Salvia Nemerosa (Caradonna & Ostfriesland)

I so wanted this to work. They are such beautiful plants and so popular with wildlife, often having several bees and countless flies feeding on them. I also found a lovely mint moth foraging on the Ostfriesland.

The problem for me was that the slugs developed a real taste for them, especially the Caradonna which only lasted a few days before getting stripped bare of leaves. The outer part of the plant stalks were also attacked and were literally scraped back to the inner core. A shame as the Caradonna has a lovely dark purple stem which is part of its appeal.

My Ostfreisland lasted a bit longer, probably because it was a nice mature plant when I put it in. I eventually took it out after a couple of weeks though and moved it to a pot as it was losing the slug battle.

I think this emphasises how general gardening advice does not necessarily apply across the board. I have read countless pieces from reputable sources for example, on how salvias are easy to grow in gardens and slug resistant etc.

I think it is hard to not recommend these plants though, as they are such a wildlife draw and look fantastic. I am not however, planning on getting any more - although I have been very tempted by the 'hotlips!'