those soft leaves will not be around to succumb to frosts, but like all members of the Salvia tribe it dislikes soil that is wet in winter.
Salvia coccinea ‘Lady in Red’ has slightly looser spikes that are less stiff than some varieties
The whole world of annual salvias is one which is often neglected by today’s gardeners. In Victorian times battalions of violent red spikes
would form the centrepiece of many a formal bedding display. And in our parks they often still do. But perhaps it’s time to take another look at them. Salvia coccinea ‘Lady in Red’ forms slightly looser spikes that are less stiff than some. Try planting them around the silvery blue lyme grass, Leymus arenarius, in front of the ever useful Verbena bonariensis. The grass is a sympathetic contrast of colour and shape, while the flowers of the verbena have a central red spark that the salvia lights up. Salvia patens (AGM) is a true royal blue that combines sassily with white ‘marguerite’ daisies in a sea-blue pot, or grown amongst orange Pot Marigolds (Calendula). The paler S. patens ‘Cambridge Blue’ is more subtle amongst a cloud of white Cleome, but beware, the slugs and snails have a predilection for both.
Then the late arrivals at the ball are among the most glorious of the whole tribe. They bear flowers that have a translucence: jewels rather than paste; lacquer rather than paint; stained glass rather than gloss. And the dark green foliage serves as a counterpoint, a backdrop. The flashing reds, pinks and corals that occur among the offspring of S. greggii, S. microphylla and S. x jamensis are among the most radiant. These Mexican natives range from S. greggii
Propagating Flowering Salvias
preferably in spring.
crown as basal cuttings in April.
the following spring.
late-flowering varieties that are not reliably winter-hardy as insurance.
under frost-free glass.
enough to endure the slugs, snails and rigours of the open garden.
a marked paper envelope, in a sealed plastic box in the fridge.
‘Stormy Pink’ whose flowers nestle in dark calyces, to S. microphylla ‘San Carlos Festival’ with cerise flowers, and the pouting, red and white S. x jamensis ‘Hot Lips’.
Some of the very late flowering species can run out of time in a poor English summer, but S. involucrata ‘Bethellii’ (AGM) reliably produces its luscious pink gobstoppers well before autumn. If you feel very daring, you could try growing brazen orange dahlias alongside. The contrast is in the eye of the beholder but Dahlia ‘Jescot Julie’ might rock your boat.
The tall, bruised blue flowers of S. guaranitica ‘Blue Enigma’ are butch enough to complement Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ with its vertical white stripes, which, by late summer will have grown to about 1.5m (3-4ft). Whereas the tall, airy stems of S. uliginosa, on the other hand, carry light clusters of flowers that are irresistible to butterflies. They sway in the slightest breeze; brown and orange wings on the Cambridge Blue petals, rock and rolling in the sun.
S. involucrata ‘Bethellii’ produces its luscious pink ’gobstoppers’ well before autumn Country Gardener
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