PlantFiles: Desert Sage, Purple Sage
Salvia dorii

On 2/18/07, I wintersowed seeds of a few xeric, silver-leaved sages, including this one. About 7 out of 33 seeds of Salvia dorii germinated, beginning 3/23/07. Although the others thrived, the seedlings of this one wilted and died in their pot within about 6 weeks. The other two that did well were Salvia daghestanica and Salvia cyanescens. Could it be that Salvia dorii is more sensitive to areas of higher humidity and spring rainfall?

All of these sages were wintersown in recycled qt-size yogurt containers, each within a vented plastic baggy. About 1/8" gritty sand was on the surface, the seeds went on top of that, and then they were lightly covered with a sprinkle of more gritty sand. 7 seeds germinated, beginning 3/26/07.

Since Latin binomial names are being deleted from the winter sowing database, and since the common names being substituted can apply to so many different species, and since the genus Salvia is so diverse, I am entering this data here, which applies to only Salvia dorii.

Even though this plant is classified as xeric, it takes a bit more water than I originally anticipated. It's now growing slowly but well in clay soil covered with rocks and a bit of water from time to time.