{"id":2082,"date":"2006-03-17T13:37:14","date_gmt":"2006-03-17T18:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.1.5\/gardens\/gardenlog\/?p=2082"},"modified":"2017-07-18T00:12:43","modified_gmt":"2017-07-18T05:12:43","slug":"salvia-farinacea-indigo-spires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zanthan.com\/gardens\/plant-highlights\/salvia-farinacea-indigo-spires\/","title":{"rendered":"Salvia farinacea ‘Indigo Spires’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last nine months or so, I’ve neglected the garden. Some plants, like the roses and irises, really show it. Other really tough plants have surprised and encouraged me. This spring I’ve been very thankful for Acanthus mollis. Auralea japonica, Rhaphiolepis indica, Tacoma stans, and Salvia farinacea. Without them, I’d have no garden at all this year.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I noticed a the first flower of the season on Salvia farinacea ‘Indigo Spires’. Thanks to the water that sprays over the fence when my neighbors water their lawn, my salvias have formed nice mounds of green this spring. I decided I should finally cut off the long arching stems from last year. I should have cut them way back last fall.<\/p>\n

One advantage of my lazy housekeeping is that salvias self-layer and root wherever the joints touch soil. In my garden, plants die every year and new ones replace them. I let them grow where they’re happiest and they’ve arranged themselves around the cedar elm in the back of the stump garden<\/a>. I do absolutely nothing for these plants except mulch them with leaves in the fall and prune them back once a year.<\/p>\n

\"Salvia<\/p>\n

Gardeners in Austin are typically crazy for salvias. They come in many varieties, sizes, and colors. In addition to being heat-loving, salvias have the reputation of being deer-resistant. (I can’t say since there are no deer downtown). One drawback I’ve heard, however, is that some salvias dislike Austin’s alkaline soil. I haven’t noticed that problem either in my garden or around town. I’ve tried a couple of other salvias, but Salvia farinacea has proven the most carefree in my central Texas garden. One plant, eleven years. That’s got to be a record in my garden. Only the plumbago<\/a>, which I bought and planted on the same day, has done as well.<\/p>\n

By the way, I’ve had a hard time trying to peg down exactly what type of salvia I’m growing. When I bought my one plant in 1995, I wrote down Salvia farinacea ‘Indigo Spires’. Apparently the salvias cross-pollinate easily and some sites list ‘Indigo Spires’ as a hybrid, not a cultivar. As for common names, I’ve found both mealy cup sage and mealy blue sage and even plain mealy sage.
\n<\/p>\n

Zanthan Gardens History<\/h4>\n

Friday March 10, 1995
\nBought Indigo spires, plumbago, and a small Mexican plum tree at Barton Springs Nursery.<\/p>\n

Sunday March 19, 1995
\nPlanted Indigo spires.<\/p>\n

Sunday December 29, 1996
\nThe ‘Indigo Spires’ died back in the freeze. I cut it back leaving 10 inches of stem. I think I should move it to a sunnier location.<\/p>\n

Sunday January 11, 1998
\nI was going to move the ‘Indigo Spires’, but it seems to have a plan to move itself. Long branches that had arched toward the sunlight have taken root.<\/p>\n

December 29, 1998
\nThey ‘Indigo Spires’ died back this year, although after the first day of the freeze, they looked like they had survived.<\/p>\n

Saturday January 15, 2000
\nCut back the ‘Indigo Spires’, fed (with superphosphate) and mulched. This plant has self-propagated and spread toward the sunshine, creating its own bed.<\/p>\n

November 25, 2002
\nThe ‘Indigo Spires’ has been blooming well for about a month. I took a series of digiCam photos of it today.<\/p>\n

January 18, 2003
\nThe ‘Indigo Spires’ seem to have survived last night’s hard freeze.<\/p>\n

January 11, 2004
\nWe’ve had no hard freeze yet, so ‘Indigo Spires’ is still flowering through the winter.<\/p>\n

February 23, 2005
\nThe 2004 Christmas freeze meant no flowers in January this year. But the plants are up and running.<\/p>\n

April 20, 2006
\nThe salvia ‘Indigo Spires’ is larger and blooming better than ever, probably because it is getting extra water when my neighbors water their lawn.<\/p>\n

\"Salvia
2006-04-20. Salvia farinacea ‘Indigo Spires’. Austin, TX.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"Salvia
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