Nice photos, UXM!

Beautiful pics! @Gerris2

Thanks! I hope to over winter the plant inside this year and hopefully the plant will be much bigger and have more blooms earlier next year!

This is the 4inch "Starter Plant" from Georgia Vines I bought in July....


Now a 1 gallon plant......it had some spider mites, but now under control.


Just a few blooms so far, but hope to have many next year.

Looking good.

Did it have spider mites when it arrived?

Marilyn said:Looking good.
Did it have spider mites when it arrived?

I didn't check, but doubt it. I've found them on other plants of ours since
then.....e.g. tomatoes, an iochroma tree, and almond.....probably just the tip
of the iceberg. It makes my skin crawl thinking about them!

I had heard of spider mites, but didn't really know what to look for until
I got a Rosebud Salvia from a different vendor in early August that started having problems after
just 10 days (see thread), and died a month later despite all my efforts to save it using Neem, and even isopropyl alcohol.

Initially, also used Bayer 4 in 1, but Sue "sooby" told me it contained imidacloprid, which promotes spider mites!
So now I've quit using any spray with imidacloprid on the label.

Neem didn't seem to work, so switched to Bayer 3 in 1 Advanced Mite Control......so far, so good. I've checked the leaves on this S.oxyphora under a stereo microscope, and see only a rare mite.
I'll keep a close eye on it, and spray again in 2 weeks, and any other infected plants.

Too late for the Rosebud salvia, but hope this S.oxy will beat it and thrive.

I hope it does too.

I collected 3 seeds from my plant last year, and they all germinated! Woohooo!!

@Gerris2 Joseph,

Wonderful and good luck with them. I've my fingers crossed for you.

@gerris,
Me, too! Good luck!

I have several clones of the one I purchased, but they haven't taken off yet,
and only got a few blooms last year.....forgot to look for seeds.

Hoping they will get established before the summer heat.
In contrast, the dark blue one (e.g. my avatar) is growing great even in shade.

Every year I looked for seeds and last year was the first year I found any. I have forgotten when I acquired oxyphora.

I don't know if it is a function of the plant age or pollinator activity. I grow it and supplement the soil about the same way over time.

I have never found seeds on Salvia koyamae and have had that species in the garden longer than oxyphora.

Gerris2 said:Every year I looked for seeds and last year was the first year I found any. I have forgotten when I acquired oxyphora.

I don't know if it is a function of the plant age or pollinator activity. I grow it and supplement the soil about the same way over time.

I have never found seeds on Salvia koyamae and have had that species in the garden longer than oxyphora.

What did you sow the seeds in? Just dirt?

I think I'm not going to bother with peat pots & starter mix anymore.......just sow in the garden.....if it works, fine.
If not, it just wasn't meant to be. I'm always amazed at what comes up without my participation.

I bought 50 Jupiter's Beard seeds, and not one germinated in starter mix or the garden (that I know of). So bought the plant
and hope it will reproduce naturally. What will be, will be.

@Gerris2 Joseph,

I'm pretty sure you're growing these in containers. What container size for outdoors do you grow them in? Are they growing and blooming by themselves?

I grew it the first time in 20 inch container with 2 other salivas. It grew and bloomed. The second time I got oxyphora to grow, I had it by itself in a 20 inch container, it didn't grow and died. I'd love to grow this beauty again, so I'm looking for info.

Thanks!

So far, mine are just sitting there.
They rooted well, but haven't shown any new growth. Hmmmmmmm.

A little later.....

Well, after a brief google, I found this very encouraging tidbit at FTBS. https://www.fbts.com/salvia-ox...

This tropical perennial is slow to start growing in spring, but takes off as the days get longer and warmer.

Treat this one like pepper plants - don't even think of setting them out until the nights are warm. It grows so fast then that it will make up for later planting.

Hi Kermit,
How warm?
Things are already pretty warm here in Escondido, though we had a brief cool down.

BTW, just realized we're probably more like USDA Zone 10b
(35°F to 40°F), instead of USDA Zone 9b (25°F to 30°F), which I thought was our hardiness zone,
as far as winter temps go.

In Zone 10 and above the planting time determination is based on avoiding extreme heat immediately after planting. In mild coastal SoCal, anytime except for the hottest spells.

So what is considered "warm"? Soil >65F?

Marilyn said:@Gerris2 Joseph,

I'm pretty sure you're growing these in containers. What container size for outdoors do you grow them in? Are they growing and blooming by themselves?

I grew it the first time in 20 inch container with 2 other salivas. It grew and bloomed. The second time I got oxyphora to grow, I had it by itself in a 20 inch container, it didn't grow and died. I'd love to grow this beauty again, so I'm looking for info.

Thanks!

I have my plants in an 18 inch inner diameter pot. They older ones have gotten quite robust woody stems ar the base. There are no other species in the pot.

Thanks Joseph for the info!