In the subject 'Salvia townsendii' we started talking about how similar the flower looked to S iodantha.

I got my S iodantha 8 months ago. It was a little 3 inch stick that's grown to a 6 foot stick! For some reason new shoots haven't grown from the base. I did move it a couple of months ago from a shadier area to one that gets more sun and in the process broke off a jillion roots. I wasn't sure how it would react to that but it never drooped and soon even put out more growth in height and side shoots. It started flowering mid-May.

Robin had mentioned S purpurea and there are similaries between the two. The flower shape is similar though S iodantha averages a full centemeter longer than S purpurea. I just stopped to read Betsy's book - my Salvia Bible - and she writes the flowers on S iodantha are around 2.5cm. I just went out to measure the flowers on my bush and they average between 3 and 3.4cm. Hmmm. The flower arrangement is also similar - they both cluster thickly at the end of the inflorescence. The colors are night and day, though. S iodantha is a striking deep purple-red while S purpurea is a bright light purple-violet color.

The leaves differ, too. S iodantha has much larger leaves that are much darker than the yellowy-green leaf of S purpurea. S purpurea leaves are also very soft to the touch with denser, longer hairs than that of S iodantha.

I only received S purpurea last month, a gift from a friend who said she'd had it in the pot for nearly a year. She has a gorgeous, full-grown plant already established in her garden. I have yet to move plants around so I have room to plant this vigorous bush.

I've added pics to my website so you can have a look at the two.

Cait1.dotphoto.com - I don't know why there's no link available with this post. Sorry!

Cait