Love that salvia hotlips hedge. So cheerful. Gardensuze, I have caradonna this year and like it but it takes a bit of deadheading I can't seem to remember to do.
Culinary sage It's the only one that does well for me and it's useful.
I don't know why, but salvias never did well for me. I bought several but never managed to establish them. They are certainly highest of all plants on my kill list (I should rename myself "The Salvia Killer"). Maybe I expected too much of them when they were still too young. Interestingly, the culinary one is a thug and I've never mollycoddled it. I know I don't like nemerosas. Even when it lived, it was over way too quickly.
One that seems to stay alive for me, planted last year, is sagittata 'Blue Butterflies'. At least I think it's still alive.
I’m with @AnniD, So Cool Pale Blue has become my favourite shrubby - non-sprawling and so far not an invasive thug like Nachtvlinder. The latter also has smaller flowers and the colour can disappear in a border whereas SCPB glows. I have a new Blue Note but it’s a bit wimpy so far.
Of the nemorosas, I have Caradonna, I like it’s neat foliage and habit and the slim purple spires but repeat is slow and patchy @GardenerSuze. I try and deadhead individual stems but found it responds better if I just chop the whole clump back. Mainacht is perhaps not as elegant but repeats much better than Caradonna and is brighter and more impactful overall.
S. Nem. Caradonna:
S. Nem. Mainacht:
A forest of bigger salvias, two Guaranitica types - Amethyst and an unnamed pink one, plus a shrubby red Greggii (or possibly macrophylla) similar to Bumble. Amethyst is a star, very long flowering, but needs plenty of space and some support:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Busy-Lizzie my Caradonna flops outwards and leaves a bare centre if it dries out or gets shaded out but otherwise stays reasonably upright but overall I agree Mainacht is the better performer of the two.
I love the look of Blauhugel, like lavender, but better 😆 I really struggle to grow lavender here no matter how much I improve drainage in raised beds.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Surprised me too @Busy-Lizzie! My soil is clay but the raised beds are massively improved with grit and compost, they even shrivel and die in a gritty mix in pots, it’s a mystery.. Salvias, on the other hand, thrive.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie Thank you I have made a note of S. Mainacht, some lovely photos and an interesting thread @Ilikeplants Visited the local GC today most plants were well watered in the circumstances, so much work for the staff. Not many buying guess they don't want the trouble of caring for them. There was a trolley of about forty of fifty large lavenders that looked awful. Think they had been spared the water when infact they needed it.
I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
@Plantminded Just wondered if you could tell me about deadheading S. Caradonna please. Is it possible to keep it going all summer?
Yes, you can deadhead S. Caradonna @GardenerSuze, I've found that you get one more flush of flowers but the spires are smaller. This year I'm going to leave mine without deadheading as I prefer the taller browned flower stems over winter!
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Gardensuze, I have caradonna this year and like it but it takes a bit of deadheading I can't seem to remember to do.
I don't know why, but salvias never did well for me. I bought several but never managed to establish them. They are certainly highest of all plants on my kill list (I should rename myself "The Salvia Killer"). Maybe I expected too much of them when they were still too young. Interestingly, the culinary one is a thug and I've never mollycoddled it.
I know I don't like nemerosas. Even when it lived, it was over way too quickly.
One that seems to stay alive for me, planted last year, is sagittata 'Blue Butterflies'. At least I think it's still alive.
Of the nemorosas, I have Caradonna, I like it’s neat foliage and habit and the slim purple spires but repeat is slow and patchy @GardenerSuze. I try and deadhead individual stems but found it responds better if I just chop the whole clump back. Mainacht is perhaps not as elegant but repeats much better than Caradonna and is brighter and more impactful overall.
S. Nem. Caradonna:
S. Nem. Mainacht:
I had Caradonna but it always fell over unless I staked it and I think it found the heat in SW France too much. I prefer Mainacht.
I love the look of Blauhugel, like lavender, but better 😆 I really struggle to grow lavender here no matter how much I improve drainage in raised beds.
Visited the local GC today most plants were well watered in the circumstances, so much work for the staff. Not many buying guess they don't want the trouble of caring for them. There was a trolley of about forty of fifty large lavenders that looked awful. Think they had been spared the water when infact they needed it.