It doesn't do as well here in Central CA with our high temps and dry air, but I try to grow it anyway.

I agree---it does draw the hummers!

Mine are doing great, too. Since I'm in zone 6, I wanted to take cuttings since I doub it will overwinter here. I have never done it before, so any suggestions as to when and how? What potting medium etc.

Thanks!
Marianne

I have a friend around Lake Michigan that just digs a clump up after frost hits it and keeps it in a pot in an unheated garage that stays above freezing. Very occasional watering over the winter is all she does to it and then replants it outside in the spring.

Instead of cuttings you might take a couple of small rooted pieces from the edges of your plants, pot them up, and try to overwinter them in a cool, bright window. Any small piece with a root will be easier to grow than a cutting. I'd start now, so that if you fail you have time for another try or two before frost.

Thanks for the suggestions. I might try both!

Marianne

I live in zone 6 and brought my black and blue in last year, just potted it up like a house plant. It got spindly, but survived and set it back out this spring and it did beautifully.

But, I made a friend at the Farmer's Market who is a horticulturist, and she says all I have to do is mulch them real good and I won't have to bring it in.

That's what I did with the Hot Lips, and it survived.

Happy Gardening,

That is very nice, Melva. Does it handle our summers okay? I may have to try Black & Blue.

Randy

hi Randy,
I grow Black and Blue and it appreciates some shade in the afternoon and more water than most of my other salvias (it will wilt when it's thirsty), but it is over 5 feet tall this year.

Pam

Randy,

This is my 3rd summer growing Black and Blue in Memphis, TN. I'm not sure how our weather compares to yours, but it does well in our hot (highs in the upper 90's and low 100's) and humid summers. Mine is currently about 5' tall, and has been in bloom for months. It has a heavy flush of blooms in early summer, and usually in mid-summer once the blooming slows down (but mine never completely stops blooming -- it's always a great source of color in my yard), I'll cut it back about halfway. This encourages it to flush out again and bloom again, and keeps it a little more compact at the end of the summer. Whenever I see hummingbirds in my yard, this is what they're on!

A great plant. One of my favorites.

I have had a lot of success rooting cuttings, especially rooting salvias that don't produce much seeds. I put the instructions on "My Page" if anyone's interested.

I have tried some cuttings already of david verity and greggi and they arent doing well. So Im thinking about just mulching my black and blues, but do I need to cut those all the way to the ground too.

I always wait until I see new growth in the Spring before I cut back. It doesn't look great, but it increases their survival.

Hello,
I am new to hummingbirds and learned about B&B on the hummingbird forum. I LOVE the look of these flowers, and want to get a clump going ASAP! Any recommendations for a source for a few healthy plants at a good price?
Thanks,
Ann

I haven't had any luck getting perennial salvia to thrive in my zone....can someone give me advice on starting cuttings, best light, and feeding???

I know several folks who successfully grow Black & Blue and several other guaraniticas in your state. In fact they report that the plants are so happy they can become a bit of a pest. You are also in a prime area for many of the fall and winter bloom herbacious perennial sages from the New World Tropics. Check out A World of Salvias and Robinssalvias for details because there are far too many to mention and I haven't grown most of them.

Ann, I live in the same zone as you. I wouldn't want to plant any of the guaraniticas now. They may not have enough time to get established before winter.

thank you! I'll start a list for the spring.

Ann

Plantloverla,
My black and blue are my most reliable to come back year after year. They die back in the winter and I transplant when they come back in the spring. I also grow mexican bush sage, anthony parker, greggi, indigo and mystic spires, and madranses(sp?). They go great with my old garden roses and the hummers love them. Here is a pic the year after Katrina.
Clint

{{gwi:1245902}}

This is a neat forum, I had b&b winter over here in zone 6a this year. But I hope someone can help, I have had ladys slipper or lady in red (can't remember which one)reseed for years, the hummers love it. but the last several years the flowers look like they will flower, but do not flower,also had the same problem with my pink hummingbird vines, I hope they do not attack my b&b next, there are about a billion tiny pink moths that are always on the red salvia, does anyone know what might be eating the flowers before they become a flower?