FFF460 - BLUE SAGE

Salvia guaranitica (Anise-scented sage, Hummingbird sage, blue sage) in the Lamiaceae family is a species of Salvia native to a wide area of South America, including Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina. It is a perennial subshrub growing 1.2 to 1.5 m tall, spreading into a large patch through its spreading roots. The leaves are ovate, 4 cm long and nearly as wide, with a fresh mint green colour, and an anise scent when crushed.

The inflorescences are up to 25 cm long with flowers in various shades of blue, including an uncommonly true blue. In cold regions, flowering begins in mid summer and continues until frost. Salvia guaranitica is a popular ornamental plant in mild areas. It grows in either full or three quarter sunlight, in well drained soil. Numerous cultivars have been selected, including 'Argentine Skies' (pale blue flowers), 'Black and Blue' (very dark violet blue calyx), 'Blue Ensign' (large blue flowers), and 'Purple Splendor' (Light purple flowers). The cultivar 'Blue Enigma', with pure blue flowers, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

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FFF459 - DIGIPLEXIS

Digiplexis ‘Illumination Flame’ is an award-winning foxglove hybrid that produces large multicoloured blooms from mid-Spring until first frost. ‘Illumination Flame’ was bred by Charles Valin at Thompson & Morgan in the United Kingdom and is a cross between Digitalis and the Mediterranean shrub Isoplexis. The ground-breaking new hybrid resulted in a well basal branched, vigorous, beautifully coloured and long blooming foxglove.

The real breeding breakthrough is unlike Digitalis, which bloom for a few weeks, Digiplexis flowers for several months. Flowering begins in the mid spring and continues throughout the summer and until the first hard frost. Digiplexis grows numerous spikes with, as its name implies, flame coloured sterile blossoms. The 2-inch tubular, hooded flowers have rich fuchsia-pink tones on the outside, while the inside of the blooms transition from fuchsia pink to golden apricot throats streaked with lavender spots.

Digiplexis ‘Illumination Flame’ is vegetatively cultivated by means of tissue culture. Propagation is done by a limited number of licensed propagators and self-propagation is strictly prohibited. The blossoms are sterile hybrids and do not produce seeds. Digiplexis can be grown as a perennial throughout USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 11. However, with its long bloom time, don’t underestimate its value as an annual, tender perennial or a spectacular container plant in colder climates. It prefers locations with partial to full sun and grows to about 1 metre tall when in full bloom.

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FFF 458 - ADENIUM

Adenium obesum is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae, that is native to the Sahel regions, south of the Sahara (from Mauritania and Senegal to Sudan), and tropical and subtropical eastern and southern Africa and Arabia. Common names include Sabi star, kudu, mock azalea, impala lily and desert rose.

It is an evergreen or drought-deciduous succulent shrub (which can also lose its leaves during cold spells, or according to the subspecies or cultivar). It can grow to 1–3 m in height, with pachycaul stems and a stout, swollen basal caudex. The leaves are spirally arranged, clustered toward the tips of the shoots, simple entire, leathery in texture, 5–15 cm long and 1–8 cm broad. The flowers are tubular, 2–5 cm long, with the outer portion 4–6 cm diameter with five petals, resembling those of other related genera such as Plumeria and Nerium. The flowers tend to red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat.

Adenium obesum is a popular houseplant and bonsai in temperate regions. It requires a sunny location and a minimum indoor temperature in winter of 10 °C. It thrives on a xeric watering regime as required by cacti. A. obesum is typically propagated by seed or stem cuttings. The numerous hybrids are propagated mainly by grafting on to seedling rootstock. While plants grown from seed are more likely to have the swollen caudex at a young age, with time many cutting-grown plants cannot be distinguished from seedlings. This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The toxic sap of its roots and stems is used as arrow poison for hunting large game throughout much of Africa, and as a fish toxin.

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FFF 457 - HYACINTH

Hyacinthus is a small genus of bulbous flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. Plants are commonly called hyacinths. Hyacinthus is native to the eastern Mediterranean (from south Turkey to northern Israel), north-east Iran, and Turkmenistan.

The Dutch, or Common Hyacinth of house and garden culture (H. orientalis, native to southwest Asia) was so popular in the 18th century that over 2,000 cultivars were cultivated in the Netherlands, its chief commercial producer. This hyacinth has a single dense spike of fragrant flowers in shades of red, blue, white, orange, pink, violet, or yellow. A form of the common hyacinth is the less hardy and smaller blue- or white-petalled Roman hyacinth of florists.

These flowers should have indirect sunlight and are to be moderately watered.Several types of brodiea, squill, and other plants that were formerly classified in the lily family and have flower clusters borne along the stalk also have common names with hyacinth in them. Hyacinths should also not be confused with the genus Muscari, which are commonly known as grape hyacinths.

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