Salvia farinacea, 'Fairy Queen'

Germination

Sow indoors. Surface sow onto seed compost. Needs light to germinate. Ideal temp. 18-24°C, min temp. 18°C. Germination can be erratic, especially if a warm temp. is not maintained. Keep moist but watch out for damping off. Prick out seedlings when large enough to handle to 8cm pots. Grow on transplanting into larger pots as required. From the end May acclimatise and plant out with 15-30cm spacing.

Growing

Require full sun to do well. Shaded plants become leggy. Pinch out growing tip when plant is 15cm tall to encourage bushy growth. Water freely once established. To encourage not stop blooming fertilise monthly.

Cultivation

Remove faded flower spikes to prolong flowering. Deadhead if you do not want it to self-seed. If you wish to collect seed allow the spherical heads to become dry and brown before cutting. Do not remove old stems until new growth appears in spring. Best time to divide perennial Salvias is in early spring prior to new growth emerging.