Black edged leaf on my Salvia guaranitica

[lwojton]

Hi,

Earlier this summer we bought a Salvia guaranitica. It's a beautiful plant, but for some reason several of the leaf edges are turning black. Does anyone know the reason for this? It doesn't seem to be affecting the plant. It has new growth and is still flowering.

Also, the tag that came with the plant says it's hardy to zone 3. But, everthing I read on the internet and in magazines says they're hardy to zone 7. Have I been misled?

Thanks,
Lynne

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Salvia, that's a sage innit? I'm not to hot on herbaciouse stuff. Possible too much water, or heat/humidity has allowed a leafspot to grow.

As for hardiness, my search agrees with yours (Hello, my name is John, and I'm a cable modem addict.) so I'd suggest deadheading and mulching deep like one does with delicate roses.

Call a local Bot garden to see if there are any of this speicies availible from northern sorses.
http://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/persalv.html has not one selection below zone 4. And they're Vermont.

 

[lwojton]

Thanks John

Yes, salvia is sage. The type that I have is a very cool blue (like that bouncing blue smile, ) and it's supposed to smell like anise. I am deadheading all the discolored leaves, I just don't like the looks of them. When you say "deep mulch", is that greater than 3 inches? That's all I have now, but I can certainly add more before fall. I just really want this plant to come back next year. The hummingbirds that it attracts are amazing!

Thanks,
Lynne

PS - Lucky you. In my area I won't be able to get a cable modem until November 1.

 

[Treebeard]

Three inches is plenty of mulch but you might want to cover the growing crown of the plant with more mulch or straw to insulate it if it gets bitter cold.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Yup,yup. cover in fall to keep it below frost line then remove after the last one in spring. Depends on when it starts to sprout I guess, but then that's gardening, and I only get dirt under my nails when I'm looking at roots. (I've got Amigos to pland anything bigger than a 3 gal containerized plant!)

Good luck whith the Salvia!

BTW, my cable bill is now over $100/month .

 

[John Paul McMillin]

hey lynne, in langhorn ,pa you shouldnt have to worry about zone 3. I live in DE and we grow alot of salvias. Yes i am an arborist but i have also studied annuals and perennials at Longwood Gardens. If your plants are doing well, then just cut out the black leaves in case it is a fungus or something. john

 

[lwojton]

You've missunderstood me

Hi John,

Everything I've read about my particular Salvia states that it's hardy to zone 7. I'm in Zone 6. The tag on the plant says it's hardy to zone 3. I wasn't sure the tag was correct, since nothing I read went any lower that zone 7. So, I thought I'd ask.