help with photo-less salvia id

21 years ago

I planted a salvia last year in a full-sun mixed perennial border, fell in love with it and looked SO forward to seeing it again this year. At it's full glory, it was about 4' tall and had a beautiffully tapered shape--almost like a raindrop or a flame. It had very blue flowers on soft green spikes that had a slightly wavy look to them. It bloomed all summer long til about early fall if I remember correctly. Stupidly, I didn't take a picture of this beauty because it hasn't returned. It was only labelled as a salvia where I bought it, though I thought I remembered it being hardy in my zone 7 garden. Did I kill it by cutting it back in the late fall? Anyone have any ideas as to what it might have been and how to treat it right? It seemed so happy but it's gone, gone, gone...

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Comments (3)

DariotJr
21 years ago
maybe Salvia 'Indigo Spires' or a guaranitica?
check out the two links

http://www.canyoncreeknursery.com/Images2/S.IndigoSpires.jpg

http://www.thegardener.btinternet.co.uk/images/salviaguar2.jpg

How big were the flowers?
DJR
Kim Fraser
Original Author
21 years ago
DJR, the flowers were pretty small as I recall, and they didn't have much of a green calyx. (I think that's what you call that green part at the base of the flower.) They seemed almost to grow directly from the stem. I followed your links, but it's hard for me to tell if one of those is my salvia or not. The color is certainly right but it was the form that was most striking and unusual to me. Perhaps that could be because I planted it on its own and not massed together with others like it? I'll see if I can't find out more about the 2 varieties you suggested, though. Thanks!
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DariotJr
21 years ago
if the flowers were small maybe 'Indigo spires' or I can maybe some Salvia farinacea varety like 'Victoria'. try a google search on these to see more pictures.
Others you could search, all with a pretty dark calyx
or maybe now that I think about it better ( I rememberedd the 'raindrop' form you describe' it could be one of the hardy perennial salvias like S.nemorosa. There are many varieties and many with dark calyces like 'Ostfriesland' 'Blue Queen' and 'Caradonna'
DJR