>Date: Mon, 9 Aug 1999 15:02:14 -0400
>From: RONALDJ ROVANSEK <ROVANSEK.RONALDJ@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV>
>Subject: salvia guaranitica
>
>My impression is that there are lots of similar salvias that are sometimes
>or always called "salvia guaranitica." The cultivar "Argentine Skies" is
>one of the easiest to recognize. It is the only one I have seen with sky
>blue flowers. This plant grows about 3 or 4 feet tall, blooms much of the
>summer, spreads readily by stolons (stems at or below the ground
>surface). This is grown by many humnetters in Baton Rouge. This is a
>very good hummer plant but not a strong winter bloomer.
>
>The plant that is probably the type originally described as the species is
>similar in height and habit to argentine skies, but has bright cobalt blue
>flowers. This is one of the best hummer plants, and reportedly spreads
>like argentine skies. I have not grown one of these, I recently realized.
>Does anyone out there have a salvia guaranitica that spreads by
>stolons? I wish I did.
>
>The plant I have grown as salvia guaranitica has cobalt blue flowers
>throughout the summer and into fall, as does the species. Like the
>species it doesn't bloom much in the winter even if it doesn't freeze. This
>is also a great hummer plant, but is much larger in stature than the
>species; mine in NJ are 6 feet tall and still going strong and have bloomed
>for two months. The flowers are larger than the species' flowers, and
>this plant does not spread by stolons. This, I think, is the plant I planted on
>Al Troy's hill, with a single Argentine skies in there by accident. The fact
>that your plants, Al, have bloomed all summer supports this idea,
>although I remember considering salvia Brazil for somewhere in your
>yard.>

>The plant called "Giant Sage" or Salvia "Brazil" has flowers of a similar
>color as the species, but is as large as the variety I am growing and
>blooms in the fall, winter, and spring, unlike the summer blooming
>species. This sounds like the plant Fred Moore described, and many
>humnetters have this plant. This is the plant that has taken over Lily
>Edwards' yard and attracts her many winter hummers each year. This
>variety roots easily and often spreads by rooting where a fallen stem
>touches the ground, so is good for naturalizing in a woody area. This
>does not, as far as I have seen, spread by stolons, but only by rooting
>along stems. Evidence of stolons would be new shoots appearing at
>least several inches away from the parent plant.
>
>There is a variety called "black and blue" which had blue flowers like the
>species with dark purple calyces. This plant has the same stature (3 or 4
>feet tall) as the species, and I think blooms at the same time. There is a
>variety called "Lollie Jackson" which I think is similar to or idenwith
>salvia "Brazil" There are also a number of other varieties, and this plant
>often produces seedlings that are hybrids or in some way differ from the
>parents, like different flower color, for example. I have seen a few plants
>mislabeled as salvia guaranitica, including salvia mexicana mislabeled by
>the Cal. State Fullerton Arboretum (shameful!). If your "salvia
guaranitica
>doesn't quite match up to other peoples' salvia guaranitica, perhaps you
>have something else.
>
>Tom, I realize that this doesn't help your situation. If you plant doesn't
>bloom well, I suggest you replace it with salvia guaranitica and/or salvia
>"Brazil" I especially like "Brazil" since it blooms in the winter and will take
>a light frost without too much damage. I am sure that a few humnetters
>you know have some to give you. It is possible that you have a vari>(seedling) which doesn't flower well in LA. I also have observed that
>some sages will sometimes lose vigor after a few years in one spot. In
>this situation it is often good to start cuttings, dig up and discard the
>original plant, rework the soil with lost of organic material, and replant the
>cuttings. You could also fertilize, since most salvias respond well to
>fertilization. My final word is that if you take cuttings from a plant that is
>known to attract hummers and bloom when you want flowers, it doesn't
>matter what that plant is properly called. It is the plant for you.
>
>Ron Rovansek
>