Here's something for fun and to do, it can easily convince you that you truly have a green thumb. Do you have a favorite plant that's getting old and woody, does your friend or neighbor have a plant that you would dearly love to grow but can't find it anywhere? Here's a simple method to propagate a new plant.

Salvia ‘Anthony Parker' (a cross between Salvia leucantha 'Midnight' x Salvia elegans, Pineapple sage) and is an all-time favorite at Central Park Gardens in Davis which is one of the local gardens where the Yolo County Master Gardeners volunteer. (https://www.centralparkgardens.org/ ). This wonderful shrub is loved by native and domesticated bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators from July/ August, through the colder garden quiet time when there is less bloom, all the way to January/February. It was an accidental find by Frances Parker, a South Carolina garden designer. Frances rescued the young seedling from her lawn just ahead of the mower and named it for her young grandson, Anthony, who was 1 year old at the time.

Here's what we did, we were well pleased with our propagation success from Salvia 'Anthony Parker'. Here it is in its blooming glory - lasting from July to February. Last summer we placed a few soil-filled 1-gallon pots under the foliage and pinned some branches, (they need to be pliable so as not to break) to the soil surface with irrigation staples making sure a node was in contact with the soil and 'voila' ... more Salvia 'Anthony Parker' healthy, thriving plants. We kept the pots moist but not soggy. When winter pruning we also found a couple of self-propagation plants developing.

photos by Peggy Smith

Many plants can be propagated by this layering technique. One major benefit of this method is that you do not need to cut the stem attached to the ‘mother plant' before you have a well-established new plant. The healthy plant does all the work and supports the growth until new roots and shoots develop for the new plant.

This, like many salvias, is a great addition to a waterwise pollinator garden. It thrives on benign neglect and when established will continue to bloom through the heat with watering about every two weeks. The only care it needs is to be cut back fairly heavily when the blooms finish.