Sorry Joseph, but you have an impostor! Foliage of S. caespitosa should be pale grey-green, hairy, and pinnatisect. I doubt if this is a Salvia.

BTW, I did get your mail to the forum address, and replied.

Best wishes, Robin.

Thanks much, Robin. I shall grow it out and see who the imposter is. Maybe it is something very nice. I shall put on hold the voodoo curse on that contributor to the NARGS seed exchange.

I didn't receive the response at my yahoo email account. I wonder where the messages are going?

Joseph

Robin is right - I doubt it is a Salvia. There are pinnatisect Turkish Teucriums like T. orientale that have similar foliage. Does it have opposite foliage?

I'm not sure what it is, either (it looks SO familiar, though!), but it's very beautiful. Let us know when you find out! :)

Brenda

Richard, The leaves are indeed opposite. I will grow it out to solve the mystery.

Brenda, you're right...it reminds me of tansy, however, the leaves are not elongate as some of the web photos of tansy I have seen.

Joseph

It really is annoying when seeds from supposedly reputable sources are not what they are supposed to be. But it is so easy to accidentally mix things up, it happens with all of us, unfortunately.

But, Joseph, you certainly have an extremely attractive foliage plant.....whatever it is!

Robin.

I'm obsessed with that unknown plant now. LOL Maybe you could ask over on the Name That Plant forum. Does it have a scent? Oh, put me out of my misery. :D

Brenda

I shall attempt to contact the individual whose name is on the NARGS seed packet, and see if he can shed light on this mystery plant. He is identified as living in England. Wish me luck!

Joseph

It was not me!!!

Robin.

Do you remember what the seeds looked like?

webkat, alas, can't remember, and I didn't save any. I had gotten lousy germination on one packet from the seed exchange so I just sowed the entire lot of each packet for the rest of them.

Robin, too funny! I will let you know what comes of my investigation.

Joseph

Here are a couple more photos of the plants; I moved them into a larger container to give the roots more room to develop. There are more leaves growing at the axils on the main stem. I like this one very much, whatever it is.

Joseph

I've definitely grown this Teucrium or other Labiatae, but can't ID it yet.

Wow, it just gets prettier as it grows! I'd effectively forgotten about this, but now, it's back to driving me crazy. :D

Do the leaves have any scent?

Brenda

I will check for scent and give a full report. I tried the other day but made the error of squishing mites on the S. pachyphylla and had that wonderful scent on my fingers which would mask the mystery plant's scent if it has one.

Joseph

Brenda,

There is no remarkable scent except for a faint yet nice chlorophyll aroma after gently rubbing the leaves. It's a nice plant, let's see what it becomes!

Joseph

Oh, you KNOW I can't wait, Joseph! :)

Thanks for your diligence.

Brenda

I too think that's a pretty plant. It will be interesting to find out what it is so we can all get one.

Here's another image. It seems to have stopped growing vertically for the moment, and is growing more laterally by making more stems at the leaf axils.

Here's a closer view of the leaves.

Are those small red buds on the right side of the 2nd pic from last on the same plant or something behind it? It's very unusual but I think it's pretty too.

Nancy

Hi Nancy,

I think that reddish color is that of the pot that is behind the container that holds the mystery plant. I will be sure to post a photo of flower buds or anything else that might be key to its identity.

Joseph

That looks an awful lot like Scutellaria orientalis var. pinnatifida.

Here is a link that might be useful: S. orientalis var. pinnatifida

All three plants mentioned as the identity of this plant, Salvia caespitosa, Scutellaria orientalis var. pinnatifida, and Teucrium orientale are pinnatisect and have distributions in Turkey. Next to Mexico, Turkey is probably the best place to hunt Salvias and other Labiatate.

That would be way cool if it made flowers like that species, Jeanne, or the one in the link below:

Here is a link that might be useful: Way cool Scutellaria

Here is a current image of this mystery plant. I took the photo today, 6/17/2007. There are 5 plants in this small container, and they seem to be making a very bushy plant of uniform height of 3 to 4 inches. I keep checking them to see if there are flower buds, but I have not seen any.

Joseph

They still look wonderful! I imagine daisy-like flowers when/if they ever show up. :D It's beautiful even without blooms, though.

Brenda

I am going to separate the plants soon so I can grow a few in the "real ground" and keep a couple in containers to overwinter indoors.

How is this plant doing, Joseph? Did it ever bloom? And...did you ever find out what it is? :D

Brenda

It's reminding me of a wild true geranium we use to have in Wisconsin. I just can't remember back that far for "exactly", but I know I've grown it somewhere we've lived.

Having said that, I've re-studied the photos and the way the fleshy leaf-stems attach to the main stem remind me of how an African Violet grows.... even the hairiness of the plant. Could it be something from that family? My Mom use to have some fairly rare African Violets..... I'm wondering if that's where I'm remembering this plant.

And, it is a beautiful plant.

Opposite leaves (in pairs) and alternating 90 degrees with a square stem (not always obvious) makes it a member of the mint family (Lamiaceae, Labiatae).

I pretty much agree it is a form of Scutellaria orientalis, though blooms will help ID it.

The plants are doing well, however, there are no flower buds on them. I will plant a few in the ground to test winter hardiness and attempt to overwinter the other ones indoors in the sunroom. I would think they would require a dormant period, yes?

Rich, when does Scutellaria orientalis make flowers, do you know?

Joseph

I'm not sure of the season, but a lot of alpine-type plants won't bloom until the second year.

I'm anxious to know after almost three years if this was Salvia caespitosa or NOT!

Presently I'm growing seed, purchased from Gardens North, Salvia caespitosa and the seedlings are identical!
I will not remember to post my findings here in 2011 when it blooms though.
Prairie Break blog (Denver Botanic Garden) shows this salvia in a Denver rock garden looking quite happy in 2009. Apparently the plant came from Rich!!

Hi Sharont

I grew Salvia caespitosa in a scree bed for several years with a cover during winter to keep the rain off the leaves. The plant featured in the pics on this thread does not look much like my plant.

Jim

This plant is currently en route to me, by what seems to be a reputable salvia grower in CA. The foliage in the above pictures does not look to be correct, based on what I purchased.