Monthly Tips

July - Plant of the Month

Salvias - Ornamental Sages

My original plan for this month was to write about some truly gorgeous poppies, but then I realized that I might have the DEA come down on me. These poppies are cultivars of Papaver somniferum, the opium or breadseed poppy. Although I bought them from a local nursery a few years ago, I'm not sure they are actually legal to grow. So forget about poppies, instead I'll talk about what may be my favorite group of plants - salvias.

Salvias are sages, and I'm not sure that I've ever met one I didn't like. Most are well-behaved, not seeding themselves about or sending out stealthy roots to run amuck through the garden bed. Most are drought tolerant (swamp sage, Salvia uliginosa, being an obvious exception), they come in many colors although most are in shades of blue/purple or red/pink. None have huge flowers but since they are carried either tightly or loosely in a spike, they make a good show.

Salvia 'May Night'

In general salvias like lots of sun and well-drained soil. Most are drought tolerant once established, but they don't mind getting summer water as long as the soil is well-drained. Insects and diseases aren't usually an issue. I've had salvias start blooming in mid summer and still be going strong in October (Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'). You may want to remove spent spikes to promote continued bloom. Be warned, the foliage has a scent and it varies from plant to plant, you may like some and not others. One is called pineapple sage, Salvia elegans, and the foliage smells divine, perhaps akin to pineapple. I rarely got mine to start blooming before October so I just grew it for the delightful foliage.

I like Salvia 'Mainacht' or 'May Night' (photo), and Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'. Some salvias tend to flop around but not 'Black and Blue'. I also like the Salvia greggii hybrids like 'Watermelon', they have a more loose, casual look, and I think the foliage smells great.

Go to the nursery and check out the salvias, you're sure to find a few you like and you can feel confident that you are growing something legal.

July - Tip of the Month

Watering I

I have tried many methods of watering my garden - none have been totally satisfactory. Lawn is easy, sprinklers of one sort or another work fine; it is the garden beds that are the problem. I think the key is to have plants that need little or no watering once established. However, most of us have plants that do need watering so what is the best way to go about it?

Hebe 'Coed' with rugosa rose to left
backed by a shrubby dogwood.

Your options for how to get water to your plants are many - this month I'll talk about drip irrigation. Traditional drip irrigation involves a hose (~1/2" in diameter) which has little spaghetti lines plugged into it at intervals with emitters that drip water at various rates to the soil at the base of the plant. This kind of system is tied in to your plumbing system.

Pluses -

• it is directly connected to the plumbing so you don't screw or unscrew anything (with the attendant leaking) or have hosing snaking around the yard.
• Some sort of timing system is involved so the plants get watered even if you're forgetful or on vacation.
• The water is delivered to the root zone of the plants, where it's needed.

Miuses -

• My drip system is forever having problems - an emitter falls off and water goes jetting all over, emitters get buried or somehow get in the wrong place; Mr. or Mrs. Mole make a hole in the main line (yep actually happened); I move plants but don't add or move emitters immediately.
  • WHy don't I immediately move emitters? Because it's a pain. To move emitters you have to find your box of supplies, dig up the main line (buried or it's unsightly), make a new hole and add the new spaghetti line and emitter, put the emitter on it's little stand and get it to stand upright and then plug the old hole.
  • THe end result is some plants get watered by the drip system and some I have to wander around and hand water - hoping I don't forget one.
• It's expensive to install.
• People often spend more than they need on water because they (or the installers) program the system to water on certain days for certain periods of time and then forget about it. But what about that stretch of cloudy days? What happens next year when the plants are more established and need less water - did you change the irrigation schedule accordingly?

The person who put in my irrigation 7 or 8 years ago, now uses a line with holes in it at specific intervals, say one foot. One can add spaghetti line and emitters if needed to reach certain plants. I imagine this might be more satisfactory but I can't personally attest to it.

Next month, soaker hoses and hand watering

 

Copyright © 2008 Paige Embry

Updated 1 April 2008