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Salvia involucrata Coconut Ice

Salvia involucrata ‘Coconut Ice’: is a tall upright, bushy shrub 3mH with brushes of bright pink and white flowers during late winter into spring.

Salvia involucrata 'Coconut Ice'
Salvia involucrata ‘Coconut Ice’

Salvia involucrata ‘Coconut Ice’: is a beautiful hybrid found in Qld, in a garden setting.

Flowers: are long, thin, tubular with a small furry white or very pale pink hood and small white and pale pink lobes that curls down and beneath the tube. Whilst the middle lobe is pale pink, the  two small side lobes are white, blending with the white beeline at the throat.

The pale coloured hood and bottom lobes act as a beacon for birds and bees to come and visit, especially if the plant is grown in a shady position. The beeline guides the  insects further into the flower.

These tubular flowers are mainly pollinated by small birds with long thin beaks like our Honeyeaters.

Flowers mostly appear in late winter and early spring. As the flower when fully opened is not long, the flowering period is shorter than it’s parent and many of the other involucrata varieties.

Calyces: are long, thin, a beautiful raspberry colour, ribbed with pointed lobes. Flowers are held in whorls of 6-8 flowers, with some opened and some opening later to extend the period of flowering.

Whorls are evenly spaced, but clustered at the end of a dark stem held above the foliage to attract passing birds and insects.

All involucrata hybrids have an involucrote, some large, some only very small.  An involucrote is a knob of bracts full of more flowers. Salvia ‘Coconut Ice” begins as a small green elongated knob, which gradually turns pink to match the colour of the corollas.

The small green bracts fall off as each whorl of flowers opens. Each bract is curled back to show the green beneath. It is a very attractive sight of the bright pink flowers emerging from the pale green bracts.

Leaves: are mid to dark green, cordate with a tapering tip and a very pink midrib and petiole. Very small crenations are found around the edges.

Salvia involucrata 'Coconut Ice'

Salvia ‘Coconut Ice’: should be planted among other tall bushy shrubs to give protection from frosts in winter and harsh winds during summer.

Plant with other pale pink, cerise, white , blue and purple flowering shrubs, to show off the delicate colouring of this beautiful shrub in winter.

Pruning: As summer begins, cut the tall stems down by half to encourage new shoots. While the new shoots are beginning to show, new growth at the base should be appearing. When tall enough, the old canes are now ready to be cut down at the base to allow the new growth to reestablish the shrub. Cuttings off the old canes can now be taken.

When pruning is completed, feed and mulch well to keep the root area col in summer.

Propagation: usually by tip cuttings from new shoots from the old canes when they are finally pruned down.