Care of salvias

[Auricula]

I have bought the salvia collection from Haylofts. I grew them on and planted them out. 
Some b****y thing has eaten the leaves of 8/10 of them and in 2 cases most of the stalks have gone too 
They are at the front of mixed flower borders in the front garden - good soil, full sun, well drained. But...... they have definitely been scoffed!!!
Will they recover, how do I treat them, what could be eating them ( cows not guilty this time ) Should I take them up and pot them up and on until they are big plants next year? It looks like snail / slug damage but I didn't think they were partial to them   Mind you, who knew that cows liked to snack on day lilies  :-/I've never grown salvias before ( except for Hot Lips from  Jilly and that's ok ) so any help would be gratefully received

[Jilly]

I'm really not sure Auricula, it could be S&S, my Hayloft ones haven't been affected (& neither has Hot Lips) but I have got some, the bright blue Salvia Patens & one from last year called Black 'n' Blue that die right back over winter, that I have to smother with blue pellets to get any growth at all. Possibly the young growth might be more attractive to them 

I'd probably pot them up & grow them on until they recover (but then again that's my answer to everything  )

[Jilly]

Auricula, I've just looked the collection we all bought on the Hayloft site & it does say that slugs may attack young foliage, so I think that's your answer. I've got away with it because most of mine are in pots or raised beds & I think they've benefited from the pellets I've put round the plants near them & it was so dry here when they were doing most of their growing.  Also a couple of the cuttings on the plant stand have been nibbled.

[Jasmine]

Another thing that springs to mind is it possibly might be mice, voles or shrews. I think I was often blaming bunnies for eating things that these creatures eat and it wasn't til I started using bunny fencing that I realised sometimes it had to be something much smaller.
I've seen mice eating my irises!

[Auricula]

thanks girls. I'll douse the remaining ones with blue pellets and keep an eye out for shrews etc ( I get squillions of those in the garden - they come to play with the cats )
I've dug up the eaten ones and potted them on to see if they recover
I had a word with the baby bunny that Penny had brought in to play with this morning - she said it wasn't her or her friends

[Jasmine]

It was that, there shrew Your Honour!

[Auricula]

Her very squeaks
Well, as I'm not buying any more plants I'll try to nurse the poorly ones back to health and failing that, I have a few cuttings fortunately

[Jasmine]

I can supply you with extras Auricula! Should it come to it!

[Auricula]

Ooh, you're a thank you

[Barbara]

I found a mouse up on the 7ft sunflower, it had taken a huge bite out of one side. so they will probably eat anything going.

[Jasmine]

I was having a cup of tea on the patio one day and could hear munching and when I looked down on the terrace the mouse was busy tucking into an iris - it ran away when it saw me.
I could never understand why aquilegias (supposed to be poisonous and avoided by everything) and penstemons (not bothered by anything) get munched away - I'm sure it's tiny rodents!

[Ladygardener]

My Amistad from the collection has been attacked, I think by thips of some sort or those big hopping greenfly that I see about the place. I've had to resort to spraying, I should have done it ages ago. It's definately not any of the above. The leaves go all scrunched up to use the technical term, with holes in them the size of a pinhead. It could be bugs of some sort, Anyhow they're sprayed now so we'll see what happens.

[Jilly]

I really wanted to get insurance cuttings done of all mine, as some of them will be spending the Winter in pots & I'm a bit   about their hardiness still, but some are being distinctly uncooperative   I've got 2 nice little plants of Lemon Pie & a couple of decent rooted cuttings of Amistad, but the lovely African Skies & all the peachy ones just don't seem to want to know. I'll keep trying though as I think the problem is that I've not got enough non flowering shoots that are long enough. 

How's your Peter Vidgeon doing Auricula, shouldn't be a problem getting cuttings from that one, I think I've got enough for a small hedge 

[Auricula]

The ones I dug up and put in the greenhouse have come back to life. They are surrounded with slug pellets and have grown new foliage. Dare I ever put them back in the garden though? All the collection is in the greenhouse and that can't be right Jilly Jasmine Tig Ladygardener I need your input

[Jilly]

They should be able to go into the garden Auricula especially with your warmer winters. I've still got some in pots, but that's due to lack of border space, not because I want to bring them indoors. The problem with that is the roots getting cold in the pots over winter 

If it was me & they've got new growth on them I'd get them planted out to establish before Winter, but somewhere where you can keep an eye out for the S&S attacking the new foliage, (in my experience it's only the new foliage that's the problem, once they toughen up they don't get attacked so much), also somewhere that will stay reasonably well drained during the Winter.

[Ladygardener]

I agree with Jilly Auricula, get them into the ground. I've got most of mine in good well drained and sunny parts of the garden and am hoping they'll make it through winter. Surround them with blue pellets and keep an eye on them, they should be fine. Mine have thrived since they got planted out, they were'nt really happy in their pots. I've got a couple of cuttings to come on, growing them in water but I don't have one of each of them. I need to get out there and start clipping.

[Jasmine]

I need to take some cuttings but mine are all in pots still except Peter Vidgeon which is dotted around the garden. Nothing seems to touch mine - not rabbits nor s+s. I know that's not very helpful Auricula but they were quite toughened up before they went in the ground, as in they didn't have much new foliage.

[Tig]

Nothing eats mine either. They have all bulked up really well now, even the baby Peach Cobbler that LG sent me has grown quite well, I just hope they are all as hardy here as Hot Lips seems to be.

[Auricula]

Thanks girls

[Jilly]

Still no insurance cuttings of the 2 peachy Salvias, they failed in compost as well as water, but on a brighter note I think striking them in compost has worked for African Skies, so that's one more that I can leave out as I've got spares  . The 2 Amistad cuttings that are growing well in the spare room are growing like mad things & look like they want to start flowering, so luckily I won't have to bring the main plant of that in, which is just as well considering the size of it 

[Ladygardener]

Mine too is huge Jilly, I wish the others were doing as well. I potted on some Amistad cuttings that I'd had in water, still have 2 that have no roots yet but they're still healthy looking. I don't get a huge scent from any of the leaves, does anybody? I thought the leaves were ment to be highly scented when you brush past them like my lemon pelargonium is but they're not.

[Auricula]

Mine are all doing well, in the half barrels I have about half a dozen cuttings which have rooted. I don't know which ones they are as they were bits that broke off when I planted the main plants out. They rooted very quickly in compost in my greenhouse.

[Jasmine]

I can smell the leaves Ladygardener - I was just checking how damp the pots were this morning and I could smell Royal Bumble without touching the leaves.

[Ladygardener]

I don't hav Royal Bumble Jasmine but I must give the others a bit of a rub today to see if they're really scented.
When I was at Mount Stewart earlier this year a cutting/broken bit of what I think is a Salvia fell off into my pocket. I potted it up and wow, I now have a healthy little something growing and the scent of the leaves is wonderful. I think it's either Salvia or a Nepetia of some kind. I guess I'll have to wait until next year to see what it turns out to be. I guess that's what I was expecting from the Salvias.

[Jasmine]

I got Royal Bumble at Homebase - I will have to try the other Hayloft salvias Ladygardener and see how much they smell! Well done with the cutting!

[Ladygardener]

Thanks Jasmine, it's pure luck that it's rooted and romping away. If I remember correctly it was quite a big plant that it fell off.
Royal Bumble is such a vivid colour so having the smell from the leaves is an added bonus, hope it does well for you.

[Jasmine]

I'm hoping it will overwinter Ladygardener as I can't get a cutting to root.

It's amazing that your cutting fell in your pocket!

[Ladygardener]

Shame there was only the one Jasmine. They had wonderful white Foxgloves that I'd have loved some seeds from but there were'nt any ready.

[Jasmine]

I think I've got seed for foxglove alba if you'd like some with your next magazine Ladygardener!

Yes I have - I've just checked! They're white with very faint olivey markings inside.

[Ladygardener]

Oh Jasmine, that would be lovely if you can spare some thank you. I'll sow them right away and keep the succession of foxgloves going. I should have some Pams Choice in bloom next year if they come true from seeds and some Candy Mountain the following year. I will no doubt have some native pink ones as well.