Thought you all might enjoy this picture, shot just before the blooms started to open. What a beauty. Quite tender, this, but well worth the effort. From Colombia.

Kermit,

I'd been looking at Salvia libanensis on your website a few days ago, but when I noticed that you listed it as a Spring and Summer bloomer (in your Cultural Icons section), I thought it wouldn't be a "good fit" in northern KY zone 6a.

It is a beauty!

This one seems to bloom whenever it wants to, but not in the hottest time of the year. We have bloomed it in the winter and spring, and it carries over into early summer. I can't recommend it for short growing seasons though, as it seems to need some plant mass before initiating flowering. So if one plants in the spring it may not be large enough to bloom before it gets warm, and then may not survive the winter. This is best a high Zone plant. We are actively hybridizing with it, so who knows what the future might bring.

Thanks Kermit!

Salvia libanensis is related to Salvia regla, which does do well in North Carolina.

Here is an image of the Jame, Coahuila form at the J C Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC. It is good from September to first frost in late October or November. If you have a cool summer, it will bloom sooner. There is a form from the Huntington Botanical Garden that starts blooming three to four weeks earlier than Jame.

Beautiful and colorful!

Welcome to ATP Rich!

Welcome to the Agastache and Salvias forum Rich!

Marilyn