Salvia confertiflora
Encyclopedia
Salvia confertiflora is a herbaceous
perennial
shrub
native to Brazil
that will reach 4-6 feet in height and width in one season. It has been used in horticulture
in the United States
since the 1960s (and earlier in Brazil and France
), although it isn't commonly sold at nurseries because of its large size. The dark green leaves
, with a yellow undertone, are about 7 inches long by 3.5 inches wide, with serrated edges, and with velvety red-brown hairs on the petiole
and stem
of the new leaves.
Flower
inflorescences
reach up to 2 feet long and are covered with velvety red-brown hairs, with the stems of the inflorescence and the calyx also having a red-brown color. The .5 inch flowers are orange-red, and very profuse, explaining the epithet confertiflora, or "crowded with flowers". The plant grows so large that it needs staking and protection from wind in gardens.
Salvia confertiflora needs support eg. Staking and likes well drained moist soil in full sun. It is attractive to slugs and snails. Propagation is by soft or semi-ripe cuttings with the aid of bottom heat. This plant flowers best in its second or third year.
Herbaceous plant
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
native to Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
that will reach 4-6 feet in height and width in one season. It has been used in horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
since the 1960s (and earlier in Brazil and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
), although it isn't commonly sold at nurseries because of its large size. The dark green leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
, with a yellow undertone, are about 7 inches long by 3.5 inches wide, with serrated edges, and with velvety red-brown hairs on the petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
and stem
Plant stem
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
of the new leaves.
Flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
inflorescences
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
reach up to 2 feet long and are covered with velvety red-brown hairs, with the stems of the inflorescence and the calyx also having a red-brown color. The .5 inch flowers are orange-red, and very profuse, explaining the epithet confertiflora, or "crowded with flowers". The plant grows so large that it needs staking and protection from wind in gardens.
Salvia confertiflora needs support eg. Staking and likes well drained moist soil in full sun. It is attractive to slugs and snails. Propagation is by soft or semi-ripe cuttings with the aid of bottom heat. This plant flowers best in its second or third year.