From: Nancy L Newfield <colibri@WEBDSI.COM>
Subject: [HUMNET-L] Purple Salvia 'Van Houttei'
To: HUMNET-L@LISTSERV.LSU.EDU

One of my major delights in gardening is to watch the flowers develop on a
plant I've never seen bloom before. This fall I am being treated to 4 new
colors of Salvia 'Van Houttei' [correctly Salvia splendens 'Van
Houttei']. I've had the plants since spring. Not all are performing as
well as I had hoped, but I thought I'd open a discussion to see if other
Humnetters have tried them.

The most successful so far has been one labelled 'lavender'. It is in a
15-inch terra cotta pot in part shade. It has grown nicely and flowered
continuously since early summer. The color of the flowers is somewhat
darker than what I know as lavender and it lacks vibrance but the plant is
attractive to my eye nonetheless. Yesterday, I observed a young male
Ruby-throat working over the plant. It is the first time I have seen a
hummer go to it.

There are two other purples in the collection. One is labelled 'plum'
while the other is 'purple'. Neither has put forth a grand array of
blossoms and I cannot distinguish between the two colors so I wonder if
there really are two different shades. The colors are somewhat deeper than
the flowers of Salvia 'Purple Majesty', but the hue seems rather muddy to
my eye. I have both plants sited in the ground in a partly shaded spot
near the back fence, an area that unfortunately gets a bit of canine
traffic. Neither plant has flourished as well as other Salvia 'Van
Houttei' that I've had in the same spots.

The fourth new color is a pale orange. It was almost killed by
squirrel-breakage early in its growth period and seems not to have
recovered since. It is sited in front near the base of the Crepe Myrtle,
where it seems to get too little water. It is barely a foot tall while a
burgundy-colored Salvia 'Van Houttei' that was put in at the same time is
three times as large and it is flowering freely.

Has anyone else tried these new plants? Observations and opinions welcome.

Nancy L Newfield
Casa Colibrí
Metairie, Louisiana USA