New Varieties 2022 Digital Guide - 40

'Mirage Rose Bicolor'
'Black & Blue', while an older
'Vibe Ignition Purple'
variety, looked very nice when
in bloom and still had the bluest
flowers in this group. However,
it did have issues with yellowing
foliage throughout the growing
cycle. 'Amistad' is also holding
strong as a great variety with
deep green foliage and purple
flowers with a black calyx; the
habit is a bit aggressive, though.
A favorite in this category is
the sister to 'Amistad', 'Amante'
with deep fuchsia flowers on a
green/black calyx, which is a
new and unique color in the
guarantica lineup.
For growers looking for
a slightly less aggressive
guarantica hybrid, 'Bodacious
Rhythm & Blues' is a bit bluer
colored over 'Amistad' and
slightly smaller in habit. The
Wish series is a completely
different species from the
guarantica types; these are fast
growing and large plants. We
found 'Love & Wishes' to be the
best behaved in a pot.
'So Cool Pale Blue'
WOODY STEM SALVIA
Woody stem types of salvia
'Royal Bumble'
are classified as shrubs and subshrubs
in warmer climates, as they never
die back and form a woody base.
These are generally hardier than the
tender perennial types but still not
hardy in all areas of the country.
Species in this category are: greggii,
microphylla, jamensis, leucantha and
various crosses of these species.
On these types of salvia, we often
hear breeders talk about improved
stem flexibility and less breakage
at shipping. What we found is all
woody stem varieties were brittle
to some degree; in fact, they were
hard to move around without
breaking some piece off the
plant. Again, this could be
because plants were very
mature in the pots, which we
would not see at retail.
Of all the woody varieties
tested, we did find one that
truly lived up to the hype
of being flexible: 'Killer
Cranberry' in the Sunset
Plant Collection. The Mirage
series also really stood out,
first because there are so
many colors and, second,
the habit was very rounded
and mounded, and for the
most part it is a very uniform series. We
really enjoyed the new 'Mirage Rose
Bicolor', definitely a unique color in
this class of salvia. We also found
the Cherry Red, White and Blue
to be great matches - perhaps
something to think about for a
Fourth of July holiday program?
As far as colors were concerned
in the woody types, there was a wide
range, but only a few stood out from the
rest. 'Pink Pong' is a bright, almost neon pink,
and what really made this one stand out was the
sheer size of the flowers - they are massive!
Each spike was between 8 and 10 inches
tall; the habit is also on the larger size, so
give this one some breathing room!
On the purple-blue side of things,
there were several in the color
range, but we thought 'Vibe
Ignition Purple' won best in class
with the finest habit of them all. 'So
Cool Pale Blue' was another color
standout with a light lavender color
versus blue as the name suggests.
This one stood out to our visitors as
well; we observed several people walking
over and looking at the plants, perhaps
because it is a more toned-down color yet
still vibrant.
'Apex Blue'
'Apex Pink'
'Apex White'
'Blue By You'
'Sensation Compact Deep Blue'
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New Varieties 2022 Digital Guide

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