Salvia discolor

[LONGK]

I lost my three year old S.discolor last autumn when my first migraine of 2012 coincided with the first frost. It wasn't a hard frost, but this plant really doesn't take a frost!

My replacement arrived two or three weeks ago and has grown like boogery since then. Today it gave me its first bloom................



Does anyone have any tips for taking cuttings, as so far I have failed miserably!

[charlie]

I don't know this particular Salvia, but if you take a picture of the whole stem from ground to tip I can let you know which method may work best based on the salvias I do do.

Is your problem that it doesn't root at all, or does it start to root then fails?

[LONGK]

I don't know this particular Salvia, but if you take a picture of the whole stem from ground to tip I can let you know which method may work best based on the salvias I do do.

Is your problem that it doesn't root at all, or does it start to root then fails?

Will do.
Here is the only one that I have at the moment, I'll have to do better ones this evening.


It just never roots.

I suspect that the trick may well be to try a semi hardwood or hardwood cutting.

[charlie]

It looks as if it should respond to normal nodal cuttings of semi hard material, discard the soft tips and bottom set of leaves and reduce the top set of leaves by two thirds, do you have bottom heat and mist? both would help

I would use a free draining mix for striking into probably 50/50 crushed bark and perlite or rough spagnum peat and perlite (perlite is best in the coarser grades)

[LONGK]

I don't know this particular Salvia, but if you take a picture of the whole stem from ground to tip I can let you know which method may work best based on the salvias I do do.

Is your problem that it doesn't root at all, or does it start to root then fails?

Finally some pics.


New shoots emerge from the leaf axils...............





Looking at this I'm tempted to try root cuttings which works particularly well with Salvia "Black and Blue".............



This photo is for no reason other than I love this plant!

[charlie]

I presume it also makes lots of seed?

[DaveP]

Ray (HH) grows this one Charlie and I'm sure they prop it from cuttings. It has never really grabbed my attention so I've not grown it, but I cannot really see it being any more difficult than many of the other Salvias.

[LONGK]

I presume it also makes lots of seed?

Not one in three years! Much like S.divornum which I'm growing for the first time this year.

[LONGK]

Ray (HH) grows this one Charlie and I'm sure they prop it from cuttings. It has never really grabbed my attention so I've not grown it, but I cannot really see it being any more difficult than many of the other Salvias.

That's where I got mine from - I was tempted to ask...............
From the cuts on mine it looks as if they use near hardwood for cuttings.
I know others growing this fail regularly - it all seems rather hit and miss.