SALVIA 



LAVENDER OB DEB 



SALVIA 749 



hairy, irregularly and pinnately cut into 

 unequal ovate oblong segments rounded at 

 the base. Flowers in summer, reddish- 

 purple, and 4 times longer than the striped 

 calyx. 



Culture (tc. as above. Increased by 

 seeds and cuttings. 



S. rcemeriana (S. porpJiyrantha ; S. 

 porphyrata). — A native of Texas with 

 stems 1-2 ft. high often sparingly hairy 

 below. Lower leaves oval kidney-shaped, 

 orenulate toothed, the upper ones less 

 rounded, all downy. Flowers in July 

 and August, deep scarlet, downy, 1 in. or 

 more long, narrowly tubular funnel- 

 shaped, somewhat arched, and borne in 

 long loose racemes. 



Culture dc. as above. Increased by 

 seeds and cuttings. 



S. Sclarea {Clary). — A biennial species 

 native of S. Europe, 2-3 ft. high, with 

 clammy hairy stems. Leaves often 8-9 

 in. long, ovate erose-crenate, heart-shaped 

 at the base, wrinkled, hoary ; the upper- 

 most ones stem-clasping ; those near 

 the flowers being coloured, very broad 

 concave and taper-pointed. Flowers in 

 August, bluish-white, twice as long as the 

 hairy bell-shaped calyx, and borne in 

 panicled racemes. 



Culture and Propagation. — ■ This 

 species flotirishes in light stony soils and 

 has a very ornamental and picturesque 

 appearance when in bold masses. Seeds 

 may be sown as soon as ripe in autumn 

 in a cold frame, and the young plants 

 placed in the open border at the end of 

 May about 3 ft. apart. In warm mild 

 situations as in the south of England and 

 Ireland, it will come up from self-sown 

 seeds. 



S. splendens {S. colorans). — A bril- 

 liant Brazilian species 2-3 ft. high, with 

 ovate tapering, crenate-serrate, smooth 

 and bright green leaves, somewhat grey- 

 ish beneath. Flowers in summer and 

 autumn out of doors, brilliant scarlet, 

 2-2J in. long, with a bell-shaped coloured 

 calyx. There are a few forms perhaps 

 dwarfer in habit, and more brilliant in 

 colour if possible. 



Culture and Propagation. — This 

 species is usually grown in pots to make 

 greenhouses and conservatories look 

 cheerful in winter. It is easily raised 

 from cuttings almost at any time during 

 the spring and summer in greenhouses, 

 and the earliness or lateness of the flowers 



depends on the time the plants were 

 rooted. For outdoor purposes it is 

 necessary to sow seed in heat about 

 February and March. The seedlings are 

 pricked out into small pots as early as 

 possible and grown on in the same tem- 

 perature until well established. They 

 may then be put into larger sized pots 

 and after a couple of weeks transferred to 

 cooler and more airy quarters so as to be 

 hardened for planting out at the end of 

 May or some time in June, according to 

 the mildness or otherwise of the season. 

 They may be grown exactly in the same 

 way for greenhouse decoration in pots. 

 The soil they like best is a rich sandy 

 loam with leaf mould. As a rule they 

 flower profusely and make fine bushes 

 without the aid of stimulants, but there is 

 no harm in giving a little weak liquid 

 manure to pot plants ocasionaUy. Out of 

 doors the plants should be placed in bold 

 groups or beds by themselves on grass in 

 warm sunny situations where they will 

 be sheltered from violent winds by the 

 surrounding vegetation. 



Other tender Sages that may be grown 

 in the same ways as S. splendens are 

 8. oacaUcefoUa (deep blue), S. elegans 

 (blood-red), S. fulgens (scarlet), S. ges- 

 nercefolia (scarlet), 8. Orahami (purple- 

 blue), 8, Heeri (scarlet), 8. interrupta 

 (dark violet - purple), 8. involucrata 

 BethelU (bright rosy-crimson), 8. rutilams 

 (bright scarlet) &c. 



S. taraxacifolia. — A native of the 

 Great Atlas Mountains with numerous 

 ascending erect stems 6-18 in. high. 

 Leaves 2-4 in. long, pinnately cut into 

 blunt or cusped irregularly sinuate-toothed 

 lobes, covered with whitish wool beneath. 

 Flowers in July and August, pale pink, 

 with a yellowish disc to the lower lip, and 

 a hairy purple-spotted throat. 



Culture do. as above. Increased by 

 seed and division in spring. 



S. virgata. — A distinct European 

 species 9-12 in. high with oblong ovate 

 roughish leaves, and racemose, spikes of 

 deep blue flowers produced in great 

 abundance in July and August. The 

 beauty of the flowers is further enhanced 

 by the deep purple-brown coloiu: of the 

 calyx. 



Culture So. as above. A good border 

 plant in masses in ordinary soil. Increased 

 by seeds and division in spring. 



