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Here at the LSU AgCenter, we choose new Louisiana Super Plant selections each fall and spring. Usually, only a particular cultivar or variety of a plant receives this prestigious designation. But this year, we couldn’t pick just one.
Salvias are an excellent addition to warm-season landscapes, and with a wide range of colors and sizes available, it was hard to decide on a favorite. So we gave the summer 2022 Louisiana Super Plant title to all of the salvias.
Louisiana Super Plants are university-tested, industry-approved plants that not only are beautiful but also can stand up to Louisiana’s climate. Salvias fit the bill perfectly.
Salvias are the largest member of the sage family, with thousands of species found all over the world. Hundreds of species are native to the Americas. Salvias are herbaceous, flowering plants with both annual and perennial types. They are profuse bloomers and highly attractive to pollinators.
Flowers are tall spikes called racemes or panicles and come in bright colors of blue, pink, purple and red — and sometimes white and yellow. The flowers are often tubular or bell shaped, making them attractive to pollinators such as hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. All salvias have high nectar content.
Salvias are most prolific when they are planted in full sun and in well-drained soils. Because of their height, salvias are best planted towards the middle or back of flowerbeds. They are stunning when planted en masse. Salvias also do well in container plantings alone or paired with a spiller. They make a great addition to pollinator and cottage-themed gardens.
Many salvias are drought tolerant once established. They have few pests or disease problems. Fertilize in early spring with a slow-release granular fertilizer or with a liquid feed a few times during the extended flowering season.
Salvias come in a wide range of heights and spreads. Most of them reach heights of 2 to 4 feet with the same spread. Space plants at 24 to 36 inches for best growth.
Salvias grow quickly and will provide color and greenery for a full look in no time. Keep them looking tidy into the fall by lightly pruning. Many varieties do not require deadheading; however, doing so will encourage new flowers. Many are perennials and will come back each spring after freezing temperatures. Plants with freeze damage can be trimmed in spring before new growth emerges.
Annual salvias are warm-season performers, while perennial types will bloom year-round if not killed back by frost or freezes and come back year after year from hardy roots. Salvia often self-propagates, so you might find seedlings you can use in other parts of your landscape.
The colorful, slender, tubular blooms of these plants make great cut flowers and will last for several days in a vase indoors. With so many colors to choose from, include a wide variety to add dimension to your gardens and provide options for pollinators.
The LSU AgCenter has recommended some selections based on excellent performance in trials at its Hammond Research Station. You can use some of them to create a red, white and blue display just in time for July 4 celebrations.
Roman Red has showy, crimson flowers on upright, compact plants. It looks stunning in a mass planting and can be used as a border accent. A native red salvia is scarlet sage, also known as red sage (Salvia coccinea). It attracts hummingbirds and butterflies with its rich red, tubular flowers that appear from spring through fall. It is fairly drought tolerant.
White Flame provides white flowers on a compact habit and has excellent heat performance. It matches Mystic Spires salvia in height. Mystic Spires Blue Improved is a great blue salvia in a compact form that produces tons of true blue flowers. It is heat and humidity tolerant and is “improved” because it sheds its dead petals, keeping a cleaner look. Blue Suede Shoes, a hybrid salvia selection from the Rockin’ series of salvias, has light blue flowers, each with a black calyx.
These tough plants are heat and drought tolerant, and the pollinators are smitten too. Add sensational salvias to your gardens this summer and enjoy the show.

PARADE OF STATES
At New Salem Baptist Church, 1412 Cherry St., Patterson, 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 12.

NEW SALEM
Baptist Church, 1412 Cherry St., Patterson, celebrating its 133-year anniversary at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, June 26. Speaker Evangelist Arnold Ray Joseph, Spirit of Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Franklin.

The parish’s mayors see multiple reasons for a recent increase in violent crime and many ways to address it.

But there was general agreement at a town hall meeting Monday that the big crime problem is juvenile crime, and much of the juvenile problem starts in the homes.

Mayors Lee Dragna of Morgan City, Duval Arthur of Berwick, Rodney Grogan of Patterson, Eugene Foulcard of Franklin and Abel Prejean of Baldwin met with St. Mary residents in the first in a series of town halls meetings at the Patterson Area Civic Center.

The object is to put together a task force and seek grant funding to tackle violent crime and drug abuse, Grogan said.

On Monday, the focus was on crime by young people, and why young people commit crimes. And that turned the focus to home life.
Berwick has been spared much of the surge in youth violence. But even there, Arthur said, a 14-year-old was recently accused of shooting at two vehicles.

“I don’t understand how we let our young people run around at night shooting people,” Arthur said.

Morgan City’s Dragna said it’s time “to have grandparents grab them by the ear and pull them in the house. ...

“Take care of your kids. Take care of your grandkids. Straighten them up and we won’t have these problems.”

Patterson’s Grogan sees a lack of participation in activities such as Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and band. He also believes religion's diminishing roles plays a part.

“Our faith, our religion, our believe in God, that’s our conscience,” Grogan said.

Baldwin’s Prejean believes juvenile crime has been aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For two years they didn’t go to school,” Prejean said. “They got to believing social media is reality.”
COVID restrictions also forced Baldwin to close three facilities where kids could play basketball, Prejean said, even to the point of removing the goals. The goals are back, he said, but no one comes to play basketball.

And the sign-up for youth sports programs has been nearly nonexistent, he said.

“When you say there’s nothing to do,” Prejean said, “somebody has to show up to do it.”
Schools showed up again in concerns about safety and discipline. Dragna pointed to a meeting earlier this year among police, school and city officials about parent complaints centering on Morgan City Junior High.

Foulcard and Grogan agreed that juvenile justice facilities are lacking, leading to the release of youthful offenders who should be in the system.

Too many offenders are “coddled and slapped on the wrist,” Foulcard said.

Dragna thinks the age at which young offenders are treated as juveniles rather than adults should be lowered from 17.

“What if we lower it to 15?” Dragna said. “How many 13-year-olds are going to go out and shoot somebody? But 15-year-olds. ...”

Arthur agreed. But “I don’t think [the age change] is going to happen,” he said.

The Berwick mayor challenged his colleagues to see if they can’t come up with money for police pay raises.

Morgan City is doing that now. The City Council recently approved a $1-an-hour raise for entry-level officers after then-Chief James F. Blair said the city’s police pay is $4 an hour less than pay in other area departments.

A recent Budget Committee meeting sought ways to raise police and fire pay $4 an hour across the board, possibly through a proposed tax increase.

The next town hall June 13 will feature the parish’s police chiefs.

Hubert Gilchrist, 81, a native of Plaquemine, LA and resident of Morgan City, LA, passed away on Saturday, June 4, 2022.

He is survived by his sons, Rodney Gilchrist and wife Tonal, Joseph Gilchrist; daughters, Denisa Acosta, Nona Campo and husband Rodney, Mona Gilchrist; brother, Joe Gilchrist; sisters, Margaret Buck, Betty Kelly; eleven grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his wife, Martha Kelly Gilchrist; parents, Daniel Gilchrist and Ida Ray Gilchrist; son, Hubert Gilchrist; grandson, Joseph Gilchrist, Jr.; brothers, Herbert Gilchrist, Daniel Gilchrist.

Visitation was Monday, June 6, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Twin City Funeral Home. Visitation resumed at the funeral home on Tuesday, June 7, 2022 from 8:00 a.m. to the funeral service at 12:00 p.m. followed by burial in Morgan City Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Rodney Gilchrist, Jr., Hubert Aucoin, Whitney Sampey, Daniel Gilchrist, Destiny Gilchrist, Seth Barcamontes, Matthew Green, Luke Pellegrin, Rodney Gilchrist, Joseph Gilchrist, John Gilchrist, Joe Gilchrist, Harold Kelly, and Rodney Campo.

Arrangements were entrusted to Twin City Funeral Home of Morgan City, LA.