Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Saturday - February 22, 2014
From: Kerrville, TX
Region: Select Region
Topic: Diseases and Disorders, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Salvia farinacea and rust fungus from Kerrville TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Are Henry Duelberg salvias (Salvia farinacea)susceptible to rust fungus?ANSWER:
The best we can tell, Salvia farinacea 'Henry Duelberg' is an older cultivar of Salvia farinacea (Mealy blue sage). When you follow the plant link to our webpage on this plant, you will find this phrase:
"Wet soil will make the plant leggy and weak." This might motivate you to be sure the plant in not grown in too much shade or too wet a soil, as that could be favorable to fungi.
We went to Dave's Garden on this plant and found several favorable comments on the plant and no mention of rust fungus.
Other commentaries on the plant came from Aggie Horticulture and Denton County Master Gardeners.
From About.com, here is an article on rust fungus, which does not mention Salvia as being one of the target plants. If the fungus is in the area where you are growing plants, it might attack, but we feel that Kerr County, in the Texas Hill Country, is dry enough that the possibility would not be large. This USDA Plant Profile Map shows that Salvia farinacea (Mealy blue sage) grows natively there, and seems unlikely to suffer from the rust fungus.
From the Image Gallery
More Herbs/Forbs Questions
Low cost landscaping in Federicksburg VA
February 22, 2009 - Hello, I live in Fredericksburg Va and I rent a townhome with a small yard. My back yard is almost completely mud and my front yard has a hideous square shrub. So my question is do you have any plant ...
view the full question and answer
Shade tolerant plants for Waynesville MO
April 09, 2013 - We moved to Waynesville, MO (gardening region 6) and when we bought our house there was a nice looking gardening area in front of the house. It is shaded moderately by a Redwood Tree and was "occupie...
view the full question and answer
Mosquito-deterring plants for shady hillside
July 05, 2011 - We have a part to full shaded hill side/ native woodland area that was once covered with english ivy..we managed to get rid of all the ivy but now we are overtaken with violets..maybe they are even na...
view the full question and answer
Safe grazing for donkeys and goats from Osteen FL
June 30, 2012 - I am having a very difficult time trying to find shrubs, hedges, plants, flowers, or trees etc. that are safe for donkeys and goats. We live in Zone 9 and have a small farm. I've had to pull every ...
view the full question and answer
Sources for Eustoma exaltatum (Texas bluebells)
October 01, 2015 - Could you list sources for seeds for eustoma (texas bluebells)?
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |