Advanced Search
(Costa Rica Blue Sage) Although this handsome plant is often listed as an Anise Leaf Sage (Salvia guaranitica), we think it is a hybrid based on differences in its growth pattern and flowering season.
(Purple Bract Peruvian Sage or Concolor Sage) Similar to its wild relative, Peruvian Sage, which is also known as Concolor Sage, this cultivar has foliage that is smooth, apple green on top and fuzzy with silver hairs on the bottom. Major differences appear in the dramatic bracts.
(Stormy Pink Autumn Sage) The dramatic name of this floriferous Autumn Sage is due to the calyxes cupping its smoky apricot-pink blossoms. Some gardeners report gray calyxes and others say dark plum. But for whatever reason, the Stormy Pink that we grow on our Northern California coastal farm has green calyxes with dark stripes.
(Austrian Sage) Tall spikes of large, pale yellow flowers rise up from Salvia austriaca’s basal rosette of impressively large leaves. Deeply lobed, like the edges of a lacy collar, the leaves are broader and longer than those of any Salvia we have ever grown.
Results for differences from the blog
1. Drought-Resistant Beauties: A Guide to the Salvia greggii and S. microphylla Group |
It can be a long journey from discovery to popularity for a plant. Currently, the most widely sought group of Salvias is the one encompassing S. greggii , and S. microphylla , which are commonly known as Autumn Sage and Mountain Sage. They caught the eye of naturalists traveling the American Southwest and Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains in the mid-to-late 1800s. However, they didn't take root in garden catalogs for well over 100 years. |
Ask Mr. Sage |
2. Ask Mr. Sage: How Light and Growing Conditions Affect Flower Color |
Ask Mr. Sage answers questions based on calls and emails that Flowers by the Sea receives. This one explains the many factors that can cause the color of a plant's flowers to vary from one location to another. The blossom color of Flowers by the Sea plants in your garden may not always exactly match the colors in our photographs. |
3. Leonotis: Mint Family Members that Roar in the Landscape |
Orange is an aggressive color in the garden. It doesn't purr. The fuzzy, shaggy, hot orange flowers of Lion's Ear ( Leonotis ) growl for attention. Their stems are so tall that they may reach up to 6 feet, towering over the foliage like gawky Dr. Seuss blossoms. You'll find them at Flowers by the Sea Online Nursery. |
4. Guide to Understanding & Using Fertilizer |
Identifying the kind of fertilizer your flowers need can be a trial-and-error experience. This is especially true if you are growing plants that don’t thrive in fertile soils like loam. Flowers by the Sea Online Nursery hopes to clear up some of the confusion in this Guide to Understanding and Using Fertilizer . |
Cultivating Color |
5. Cultivating Color: Rare Yellows in the Salvia Garden |
Among Salvias, one might say yellow represents rarity because, overall, it’s an uncommon flower color for sages. But China and Japan are home to a number of yellow-flowered species, especially shade-loving types. Read more at Everything Salvias. |
Ask Mr. Sage |
6. Ask Mr. Sage: What Is Average Watering? |
Confusion about watering of plants is understandable, because moisture needs vary so much from one species to another. It also varies based on your local growing conditions. Ask Mr. Sage, a regular feature of the Everything Salvias blog at Flowers by the Sea Online Plant Nursery, explains the differences between the labels drought resistant, average water and water loving classifications for estimating water needs. Some FBTS average water plants also grow well in dry or damp settings. |
7. Fall Cleanup: Plant Placement and Pesky Problems |
You don’t usually have to fuss over Salvias to give them what they need. Yet the end of fall and other growing seasons are good times to seek solutions to problems that affect plant vigor. It is a time for a call to attention as well as a cleanup call to action. |
Getting Started with Salvias |
8. Getting Started: Salvias for the Southwest |
Ask anyone to describe the American Southwest, and they're likely to sum it up in three letters : "D-R-Y." Yet precipitation can vary a lot here state by state and even within different parts of the individual states. One thing that is consistent about the story of water throughout the Southwest, is that rain and snow can rapidly swing from famine to feast to misfortune. |
9. Getting Started: Salvias for Zone 9 |
California's small, Mohave Desert city of Barstow averages about 5 inches of rain annually. Across the continent, Pensacola, Florida, has more than double Barstow's population and more than 12 times its amount of rainfall. Yet both cities are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Plant Hardiness Zone 9 where you can plant perennials and shrubs that survive winter lows ranging from 20 to 30 degrees F. Flowers by the Sea takes readers on a triple coast road trip of Zone 9 and suggests plantings for varied growing conditions along the way. |
Container Gardening |
10. A Guide to Successful Potting Soils for Salvias |
One of the decisions that Salvia gardeners face in spring is what kind of potting mix to use for outdoor container plants. Find answers in FBTS Farm & Online Nursery's guide to successful potting soils for Salvias. |
Hummingbirds in the Garden |
11. Hummingbird Falls Sage: Answers to Your Questions |
Hummingbirds are vital pollinators that need lots of rich nectar to survive and keep gardens blooming. Salvia BODACIOUS 'Hummingbird Falls' is a unique hanging basket plant that is a natural replacement for plastic nectar feeders. |
Ask Mr. Sage |
12. Ask Mr. Sage: What Tropical Sage Should I Select? |
Selecting the right types of Tropical Sage ( Salvia coccinea ) can be confusing when viewing them in a catalog and seeing similar flower colors. Yet they may differ in cultivation needs, foliage, heat tolerance, and size. Mr. Sage offers ideas for comparing differences and similarities. Ask Mr. Sage is a regular feature of the FBTS Everything Salvias Blog , which responds to questions from customers. |
Common terms in this search: costa warm tropical-type leaves similar hummingbird magnet sun-loving but also grows well partial shade climates purplish give rich well-drained soil regular watering spot where want make bold statement bracts flowers rica based blue sage although handsome plant often listed anise leaf guaranitica think hybrid differences violet-blue its growth pattern flowering season long-blooming vigorous can reach feet tall has large purple