Salvia involucrata ‘Joan’ : is an upright medium perennial 1.2-1.5mH for a sunny position with bright pink flowers that will flower all year.
Salvia involucrata ‘Joan’ is a tough hardy plant for long hot summers.
Flowers: are tubular, a bright cerise colour with a small hairy hood and large bottom lobes. The whole corolla is the same colour. The white beeline at the throat is quite small, but this still attracts bees and other insects. S. ‘Joan is mainly pollinated by insects.
Calyces: are a mix of green, crimson and brown, ribbed with pointed lobes. Flowers are held in whorls of 6-8 flowers around a green stem. 2-3 flowers are open at a time while the others are waiting to open. Often only a these flowers are clustered at the top of the stem, being held above the foliage to attract passing bees.
All involucrata hybrids have an involucrote, some large, some only very small. An involucrote is a knob of bracts (the same colour as the corollas) full of more flowers. Salvia ‘Joan’ has a very small rounded knob. The small coloured bracts falloff as each whorl of flowers opens. As the flower stem ages, the knob disappears.
Leaves: are a bright green, lanceolate in shape, veins indented with a green midrib and petiole and very small crenations around the margins.
Salvia ‘Joan’: should be planted in an open sunny position. As she has perennial growth, she will make a sizeable clump for a foreground planting or in the middle of the bed with smaller groundcovers in front.
This is a plant that will flower the whole year, so can be relied upon to give colour to the garden through out each season.
Plant with other vibrant colours of blues, purples. White will act to calm down her bright cerise colour as will other green leafy shrubs and perennials. She can also blend and contrast with other paler pinks.
S. ‘Joan’ is a tough hardy perennial, tolerating the hot dry summer conditions well, when the clump is established. Tolerating the winter cold and frosts before putting up new shoots.
Pruning: When the new growth begins to appear at the base of the stems, then that is the time to cut down the old stems, allowing the new growth to regenerate the clump.
Feed and mulch to keep the root area warm during the cold months of winter and cool during the hot dry summer months.
Propagation: This can either be by dividing the clump or by taking tip cuttings in spring and summer from the new growth.