Salvia involucrata ‘Pink Gruyere’: is a tall upright bushy shrub to 4mH with bright cerise brushes of flowers during winter.
Salvia involucrata ‘Pink Gruyere’: is one of the taller involucrata varieties, reaching 4mH with very upright stems.
It is very similar to Salvia ‘Kingsholme Cherry’ which originated in Qld, but ‘Pink Gruyere’ was found in a garden here in Melbourne.
Flowers: are tubular, with a fat tube, a small furry hood and the bottom lobes are curled down and beneath the tube. The bottom lobes are slightly darker with a prominent white beeline showing at the throat.
The beeline and the faint white stripe on the hood act as markers to attract bees and small birds with long thin beaks to enter the flower.
Flowers appear in mid winter as a brush of bright pink flowers at the top of the stems to attract passing insects and birds. Birds are the main pollinator of these tubular flowers.
Calyces: are green, ribbed with pointed lobes, held in whorls of 10-12 flowers, some open and some opening later. These whorls are divided with 6 flowers on one side of the stem, and 6 on the other side.
All involucrata hybrids have an involucrote, some large, some only very small. An involucrote is a knob of bracts ( usually the same colour as the corollas) full of more flowers. Salvia ‘Pink Gruyere’ has a very small green rounded knob. The small bracts fall off as each whorl of flowers opens.
Leaves: are large, midgreen, cordate shaped with a pointed tip, smooth surfaces, small creations around the edges and long green petioles.
Salvia ‘Pink Gruyere’: is best planted at the back of the bed with other tall shrubs that will provide protection from harsh winds in summer and frosts on winter. It does prefer dappled shade or the shade of a large tree.
Grow with other tall pink, crimson, blue and purple flowering shrubs. Plant with other bushy shrubs to give support for the tall stems on windy days.
Although frost tender, this is a good reliable Salvia during summer and winter once established. It responds well to a bit of summer watering.
Pruning: In late spring, when most of the flowering has finished, it is time to shorten those long stems down by half, to a good green bud, so the resulting growth will provide a bushy shrub with less damage on windy days.
Clean out any dead stems or twiggy growth. Feed and mulch well to keep the root area cool during the hot dry summer season.
Propagation: usually by tip cuttings taken at most times of the year.