Salvia lasiantha: An interesting mid sized shrub,1.5 -2mH with it’s multi coloured flowers, which the bees love, especially as it flowers throughout winter
Salvia lasiantha has a long flowering period from autumn through out winter in to spring. .
Flowers: begin as pale yellow buds, then develop into terracotta coloured flowers with prominent white stamens being exerted from beneath the hood, which makes the flower seem larger and another colour combination. The bottom lobe is curled down to allow bees and other insects to enter the flower.
Flowers are set in a whorl of 6 flowers on a long flowering stem. When the sun is shining the flowers are covered with bees, especially in winter when not a lot of other flowers are available.
Calyces: are covered with pink/mauve hairs, slightly ribbed with a soft tip. They remain on the stem for some time after the flower has finished. With all these multi colours making up the flower, it makes an striking flower combination.
Leaves: are lanceolate or heart shaped, a fresh green with corrugated or fissured surface which gives it a bubbled look. The undersides are paler.
Salvia lasiantha grows to approx 2mH with either a vase shaped growth form or forms a central leader. It does produce a lot of twiggy growth that should be cleaned out but initially helps with the shape.
Grow in full sun, it’s not fussed about the soil, proving very hardy for summer heat and dry seasons, It will tolerate the winter cold and frost hardy.
A great shrub for the back of a medium bed, certainly an interesting feature plant for the garden, lighting up an ugly part of the garden. Not many shrubs produce so many colours in one flower as this bushy shrub.
Having flowers in winter, certainly provide plenty of food for small birds, bees and moths which love visiting this shrub.
This is the sister to S.semi atrata and S.lasiantha ‘Kathe’. Although not as striking in colour, it provides another similar colour range.
Maintenance: As the plant flowers in winter, wait until spring when the new growth begins to appear before cutting off spent flower stems. Cut out twiggy growth and trim to shape. It doesn’t need very much cutting back at all.
In spring, feed well and mulch to keep the roots cool in the summer season.
Propagation: Tip cuttings of new growth are best, which should appear in spring or after any cutting back.
This the same for S.semiatrata and S/lasiantha ‘Kathe’