I think I may have found the answer! Temperature and the sun apparently can alter the colour, so maybe it will change colour again back to what it should be. It is very hot here!
I grow quite a lot of different salvia varieties and I've found that the flowers of Salvia microphylla in particular, often tend to change colour at different stages of development and also at different times of the year. The different cultivars of Microphylla hybridise easily and it seems that this could be the reason why the flowers vary in colour, even on the same plant. 'Hot Lips' is a typical example. I took three cuttings from the same plant earlier this summer (all at the same time), and two have flowers which are identical to the mother plant whilst the third has flowers that have no white in them whatsoever. It will be interesting to see if the flower colour is the same when it flowers again next spring/summer.
@floralies Thank you for update. Surely flowers next year. I have been very interested as I have some small cuttings too. They can become woody so it seemed like a good idea. Maybe a long wait ahead guess all gardeners have to be patient.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
'Hot Lips' is a typical example. I took three cuttings from the same plant earlier this summer (all at the same time), and two have flowers which are identical to the mother plant whilst the third has flowers that have no white in them whatsoever. It will be interesting to see if the flower colour is the same when it flowers again next spring/summer.
I have some Hot Lips in a hedge and they change most years. Some years the flowers are all white, some year all red and somme years mixed. I think to do with temps and rainfall. I like the variation.
My Hot Lips starts off red and white in late spring and then, as the first heatwave hits in June, goes thru a period of just white and then goes all red. Currently it's mostly red. Temps are currently in the high 20s but have been in the high 40s (or a bit worse) nearly all summer.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
My Hot Lips starts off red and white in late spring and then, as the first heatwave hits in June, goes thru a period of just white and then goes all red. Currently it's mostly red. Temps are currently in the high 20s but have been in the high 40s (or a bit worse) nearly all summer.
Yes, I have grown Hot Lips for a few years and the flowers do seem to lose some of their whiteness when autumn arrives. I have a few other two tone microphylla cultivars that also change to the single darker colour in autumn.
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