Salvia coccinea ‘Coconut Ice’: A beautiful upright, open, elegant plant with soft pale pink, almost white flowers 60-80cm H.
Salvia coccinea ‘Coconut Ice’: can be grown as an annual or perennial if protected from cold weather.
Flowers: are semi tubular, stamens exerted from the hood which is a soft pale pink almost white colour and the palest pink lower lobe. The bottom lobe is frilly, showing a prominent pink beeline in the centre to guide the bees and insects into the flowers.
Flowering mainly from spring till autumn. Bee and insect friendly.
Calyces: are completely green, sparsely ribbed with pointed lobes. Flowers appear in whorls of 4-6 flowers at regular intervals along a green stem.
When the flowers have finished, the whorls remain, drying during summer months. These should be cut off to promote more flowers.
Leaves: are a mid green colour, cordate or heat shaped, slightly hairy with rounded crenations along the edges.
Salvia coccinea ‘Coconut Ice’: is a beautiful addition to the garden, especially in those semi shaded positions under trees and high shrubs. Keep watered in summer and less watered in winter, watch for snails and caterpillars.
Plant with other pale, delicate coloured shrubs and perennials. This goes nicely with other white, pale mauves and pinks in a pastel themed garden.
Through out the summer season, cut off the seed heads to promote more flowers, tidy the shrub cutting down to a good green bud to promote more growth. Cut out any dead or twiggy stems.
Propagation: is mainly from tip cuttings taken at any time of the year from new growth. As the seed may not come true to colour it is advisable to propagate from cuttings for the flower colour.