I recently learned that all salvias can cross pollinate each other. I’m surprised there doesn’t seem to be any landrace or Grex seeds out there. They seem super versatile, helpful and native in many cases. Is anyone aware of any? Is anyone interested in helping start one? Or have any varieties they might be willing to contribute? I tried to grow some from seed last year but didn’t have much luck getting them started for some reason. Trying something a little different this year.
6 Likes
I did not know that all salvias can cross with each other. I have silver sage in my garden that readily self-seeds and that I rarely water (zone 7b, <20” rain/year). Would be glad to contribute seeds to a mix.
1 Like
FYI there are multiple species in the Salvia genus (S. aethiopsis/Mediterranean sage, S. pratensis/Meadow clary, S. sclarea/Clary sage) that are Class A noxious weeds in my state (Washington). This means that by law landowners are required to eradicate them wherever they grow and it is illegal to buy, sell, offer for sale, or distribute plants or reproductive plant parts from these species.
I offer this information not to say that you shouldn’t work with these plants where you are, just that salvias in general can be quite weedy and any grexes/seed mixes containing regulated species (or interspecies hybrids of them) could run into legal issues especially being distributed across state lines.
1 Like
Yes, many types of sage hybridize easily, and this work is being carried out by many horticulturists around the world.
The most floriferous species are often hybrids, which you can find here with the names salvia … X … or salvia ‘…’, for example :
https://www.laspilitas.com/shop/plant-products/all-text--salvia
I encourage you to experiment with these already hybrid varieties to look for new F2, F3, etc. forms, to backcross, to make 3, 4, 5-way hybrids, etc.
Unleash the diversity of sage, which are superb plants for pollinators ! 
1 Like
@DebbieA That is so kind of you to offer! May I message you to discuss?
@avery.bowron I really appreciate that you shared that with me and in such a kind and encouraging way! From my limited research, it looks like this is mainly an issue in the west and I live in the east, but I will definitely do more research before starting or sharing seeds!
@stephane_rave That was my understanding too! But it doesn’t seem like anyone has tried to develop or at least offered any kind of grex with a wide variability of genes? So I guess I have a new project on my hands! I’m assuming salvias cross pollinate pretty readily when enough pollinators are available?
If anyone has any seeds they might be willing to contribute, please let me know!
1 Like
Horticulturists and traditional seed producers are finding it increasingly wise to isolate or fix their favorite varieties… 
It’s up to us to create sage grexes!
First, learn about the genetics of the Salvia family. In many plant families with a large number of species, certain species are grouped into closely related groups that can only hybridize with each other. Intergroup hybridization is impossible, but there are sometimes a few small exceptions…
In short, give it a try! 
2 Likes
@Ermarie Yes, please message me. I have saved seed from 2023 that I can share with you (I don’t know the germination rate, though), and can also save seed this year. I’m in Utah (Intermountain West) and originally bought the silver sage at a local nursery. The only sage I saw on the list considered a noxious weed in Utah is Mediterranean sage – Salvia aethiopis. Thank you, @avery.bowron , for the warning. Definitely a good piece of information to consider before sharing a mix too widely.
@stephane_rave I’ve been trying to understand brassica interspecies hybridization. Does Salvia work in a similar way, involving chromosome duplication? Thanks for pointing it out. Plants are such amazing beings.
1 Like
I don’t know…I did not find the information for salvia…
so I know absolutely nothing about their reproduction except that in view of the number of hybrids in commerce it must be relatively simple.
But can you hybridize all the salvia together or are there groups?
if someone knows or can give the links to more info I am interested.
its a bit more complex as some salvias are polyploidy within their own species ( kinda like the potato but to the extreme) Salvia Chromosome Counts has some discussion of the chromosome counts
3 Likes