I Hate It When They Are Mislabeled

I hate it when they are mislabeled. This was labeled as S. patens. The entire flat of them was labeled S. patens, so at least I am not alone--there are other plants out there masquerading as Salvia patens besides mine.






Tiny flowers!




It's pretty, but I wanted Salvia patens. Grrrr!



It's important to me to know what species it is (I hope it is a Salvia--I'll be embarrassed if it is not) so I can place it correctly in the garden. Knowing exactly what species means less transplanting. Ah well. That's gardening.

I don't know what this next plant is, either. A Crassula of some sort.


It wasn't mislabeled. It wasn't labeled at all--a gardening buddy gave me cuttings. She didn't know what it was.



Gardening is surely easier now in the Internet Age. We can post a photo to such places as Gardenweb's venerable Name That Plant! forum and get a plant identification. No doubt there is a Facebook page of some sort for plant identification as well (is there?). Once identified, there are many resources for determining cultural practices. Okay, a lot of them are wrong, or junk, but after a while, you find reliable ones. Blogs (as we know) are invaluable for seeing photographs of plants--how they grow, how they bloom--and reading the comments of other gardeners are also important and of great value. So gardening is easier, right?

There are some drawbacks to gardening in the Internet Age--the plant society or club seems to be vanishing. People either don't have the time or can't stand the slower pace in our Internet Age. Or dislike club politics. Or would rather be on Facebook, or looking at Porn (the other kind, not Rose Porn, which is the good kind).

Rose porn:


Without the Internet, I might have been blissfully unaware that it wasn't Salvia patens and might have been perfectly happy.  Instead, I'm grrrrrr-ing.  Of course, without the Internet, I probably would not have wanted Salvia patens in the first place.  There is that, yes. 



And one can waste too far much time on the computer when one should be out in the garden...like now...so, anyone know what that Saliva is?

The Crassula as it turns out is Crassula congesta, common name Ballhead Sandwort.  It's native to South Africa.  A gentleman who lives by the ocean in South Africa identified it for me over the internet.  Fun common name, eh?  And amazing to think someone in South Africa I have never met looked at my photo and took the time to tell me which species it is.

I feel sorry for today's children--they cannot appreciate the amazement of that.  I'm glad I can--though I suppose my Grandmother, who was born before the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, and lived in three different centuries, always pitied her grandchildren for failing to appreciate the wonder of the automobile, airplane, radio, television, polio vaccine, frozen food...

Update:  Denise of the outstanding blog agrowingobsession.com ID'd the Saliva as S. verticillata.  Thank you Denise!

Update:  Another Salvianista thought S. napifolia, and I'm now leaning towards that ID.   Further growth of the plant will enlighten.