Salvia lasiantha ‘Kathe’: is a medium upright shrub1-1.5mH with pink multicoloured flowers, appearing in Autumn and Winter.
Salvia lasiantha ‘Kathe‘ is a sibling plant to the parent with pink flowers rather than orange flowers.
Flowers: have flowers ranging from a pale pink to a wine coloured pink. Although not a big flower, the hood is fairly narrow and extended with white stamens being exerted, making the hood looking even longer. The white stamens add another colour to the variation in the pink colouring.
The bottom lobe, is curled down to open the throat, the other 2 side lobes are tucked in with the bottom lobe to form a small cup and landing place for the various insects that visit. All lobes are more or less the same colour, with the hood being a slightly darker hue of pink.
When in bud, the colouring is very pale, even whitish and as the bud opens the flower has a yellow colouring, which gradually fades to a peach, then a pink, becoming darker as the corolla matures. An interested multicoloured flower.
Flowers appear in a cluster of whorls at the top of the flowering stem. Each whorl has 4-6 flowers with at least 2 flowers fully open at any time with the others remaining in bud, ready to burst out when the first row finish, so there is a succession of flowers over a long period of time. Flowers appear in Autumn and Winter, on stems well above the leaves to attract any passing bees and insects.
Calyces: are predominately green with a pink colouring at the tips, all coated in fine hairs. Each lobe is slightly ribbed with a small pointed tip.
If the flowers are not pollinated, the calyces will eventually drop off leaving a empty flower stem that need to be removed when tidying the shrub.
Leaves: are lanceolate, fissured or corrugated with inverted veins to allow any moisture to be channeled down the stem, towards the roots. Leaves are a mid green, slightly paler beneath.
Although Salvia lasiantha ‘Kathe is smaller and not as bright as the parent, this shrub adds a lovely soft subdued pink colouring to a garden bed.
This forms an upright shrub for the middle of the bed or a background shrub to lower groundcovers that flower in the summer, not clashing with these subtle soft pink coloured flowers in winter.
Plant in full sun with other tough hardy shrubs with greyish leaves and similar coloured flowers. Hardy for the summer heat, winter cold as well as being frost tolerant.
Maintenance: Not very much maintenance is needed for this shrub as it keeps fairly neat and tidy, but it may send up a tall leader which may need cutting back and any small twiggy growth on the lower limbs, usually most trimming is for shape..
Feed in autumn for the flowers and again in spring for the new growth, mulch well throughout the year to keep the roots cool in summer and warm in winter from any frost damage.
Propagation: is from tip cuttings of new growth. These can be found in spring or after the shrub is trimmed to shape. See propagation page for more tips.