How to Grow Sages That Are Not Sages

Member

By Gardengates
User-Submitted Article

Article Rating:

(2 Ratings)

How to grow sages that are not sages

There are some wonderful plants that are called sages but are not in the sage family, Salvia, at all. They are very showy and easy to grow plants. You may want to use them in your own garden. Here is some information about a few of these sages that are not sages at all.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Phlomis fruticosa -- the Jerusalem sage

The Jerusalem Sage (Phlomis) has soft, big, rich, green leaves that send up long spikes with circular tiers of dragon-faced flowers in colorful spikes. The flowers are bright yellow in the tall growing Phlomis fruticosa and slightly paler in the dwarf version of the Phlomis lanata. There are pink varieties like the Phlomis tuberosa and Phlomis russeliana, and purple-flowered cultivars like the phlomis cashmeriana and phlomis purpurea. The larger varieties can shoot up to 5’ in height when in bloom. This is a remarkably tolerant plant that will take regular water or handle drought. The Phlomis can grow in dappled shade or full, hot sun. The Jerusalem Sage is a very ornamental plant that looks lush and tropical even in dry, hot conditions.
Step 2

Russian Sage (Perovskia) in the lower half

The Russian Sage (Perovskia) has a strong sage-like scent to the foliage, but that is where any similarity to a Salvia ends. This plant has feathery white-green leaves that grow in long plumes to four or five feet tall. When they bloom, the upper stems color purple and become covered with many tiny flowers creating a frothy violet smoke. Growing in cold climates or hot, this Russian Sage will grow well in poor or rich soil with low or regular water. It does like full sun. Use the Perovskia as a backdrop for other plants or grow it as a soft, gentle-looking color accent.
Step 3

Two other 'sages' are actually Artemisias rather than Salvias. The Artemisia tridentata is known as Sage Brush or Great Basin Sage Brush and is occasionally used in landscaping where its blue gray foliage can be striking. It grows to about 4’ and the seeds are edible. It is very useful in dry, sunny and hot gardens where its lush colorful foliage and bright yellow flowers can really be appreciated.

The Prairie Sage (Artemisia ludoviciana) is a native herb that grows in dry, rocky or sandy areas of the Tallgrass Prairie region of this country. It has a number of medicinal uses, but is not often used in gardens though it does have an attractive whitish foliage.
Step 4

True Salvia 'Indigo Spires' Sage

Although there are sages that are not sages at all, these sages can add color and texture to any garden. Like the real Salvia sages, all have herbal scented foliage, but none are used in cooking. Use them in the garden for easy to grow plants that add their own brand of beauty.