Salvia Dorrii a great western shrub!!

[cohan]

'Fall blooming' are also words that worry me though there are (frost tolerant) things in flower very late here-- native asters, non-native honeysuckles and violas have all been in flower here 6 weeks or more into our regular frost season, after lows of -10C or much lower..
For more sensitive species, I suppose it depends what their triggers are-cool nights? might flower in mid-summer short days? by september, regular frosts are almost guaranteed, even if days may be warm....

[McDonough]

Salvia pachyphylla is an early fall bloomer when there is little else in bloom. It takes center stage in my fall garden demanding your attention for three to four weeks. Humming birds and bees both seek it's nectar.

 Here are a couple of shots of Salvia pachyphylla  from my garden.

John, Salvia pachyphylla looks to be a fabulous "must have" species, although I have not tried it yet.  I'm also a big fan of late summer or early fall blooming plants, and this would be a welcome addition.  I can envision growing it with the soft coral orange of Agastache (I have an aurantiaca x rupestris cross) which will grow here but they are not overly permanent (lasting 2-3 years), fortunately perpetuated by self-sown seedlings.

[Fermi]

We had Salvia pachyphylla until the recent unseasonable rain and will have to replace it and get S. dorrii from seed as it's allowed into Australia.
cheers
fermi

Just checked the seeds we got from the NARGS Seedex and sure enough there is a packet of Salvia dorrii ssp dorrii ...donated by Weiser of NV!
Hopefully I'll get these sown before we go to the UK for the Alpines Conference in April.
cheers
fermi

[Weiser]

Glad to hear you receaved some dorrii to try. The key is to grow it dry once it is established.  In its native habitate around Reno it gets from 15-25 cm of moisture per season. Most of that coming in the winter and early spring.