Perovskia atriplicifolia, often known as Russian sage, is a pretty plant with long, gray-green leaves and square, silvery-gray stems that blooms in late summer, creating an airy cloud of color. Along the length of the stems, the small, tubular, purple-blue flowers are grouped in whorls. The Perennial Shrub Association recognized this semi-woody plant Perennial Plant of the Year in 1995. It can be utilized in climates where lavender cannot be consistently grown because it superficially resembles lavender. Zones 4-9. This mint (Labiateae) family member is hardy.
Although the plant is neither native to Russia nor a sage, the genus was named by the Russian botanist Karelin around 1840 in honor of B. A. Perovski, the Turkestani governor of the Russian province of Orenburg (Salvia). Perovskia, which is pronounced “per-OFF-skee-uh,” is a plant that is indigenous to Tibet and Central Asia at heights up to 8,000 feet. The sage connection is most likely due to the distinctive scent released when the leaves are crushed. Since the mid-1800s, Russian sage has been grown.
Perovskia can be used in many different areas of the landscape, such as the front, back, or cottage garden. It pairs well with white- or yellow-flowered perennials and ornamental grasses, particularly white phlox, Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan), and coreopsis. Other possible pairings include merging with other silver-leaved plants, adding contrast with red-leaved barberry or plants with dark green leaf. The environment has a nearly Mediterranean vibe to it thanks to the open architecture and silvery vegetation. It can also be used to separate stronger hues or as a filler plant. Use it as a specimen in small spaces, in vast spaces in order to increase its presence, or as a divider hedge in a long, wide row. Varieties
Perovskia comes in seven different species, although P. atriplicifolia is the only one that is frequently found in stores. Plants advertised as this species may actually be hybrids of P. atriplicifolia and P. abrotanoides due to some confusion in the nursery trade. The plant, which reaches heights of 3 to 4 feet, has delicate, fragrant, gray-green leaves and gray-white stems, as well as lavender blue blooms that bloom all summer long. It can withstand drought fairly well. Bees and other insects are drawn to the blossoms. Plants grown from seed are typically inferior than cultivars.
What variety of Russian sage is the shortest?
* Definition: Russian sage is a superb perennial with silvery-gray leaves and spikes of purple flowers that can withstand heat, dryness, and is deer-resistant. Its biggest flaw is that it doesn’t short-grow to a gangly, floppily 4-foot height. A number of novel, non-flopping dwarf varieties of this plant that attracts bees and butterflies have been developed by breeders. These include “Rocketman,” “Peek-a-Blue,” “Lacey Blue,” “Little Lace,” Blue Steel, and “Blue Steel.”
* Size: The majority reach heights of 24 to 30 inches and a 2-foot spread. The shortest are Lacey Blue, Little Lace, and CrazyBlue, measuring 15 to 18 inches.
* When to use: Enjoys the Mediterranean climate
sun, heat, and rocky soil. Ideal around mailboxes, on sunny banks, along western or southern foundations, or in perennial or butterfly gardens. Avoid planting Russian sages in low-lying, moist areas since they are prone to root rot.
* Precautions: At the conclusion of each winter, trim back to 2 or 3 inches. No need to spray. Most of the time, a spring scattering of a balanced organic or slow-acting fertilizer is sufficient. Watering is not necessary unless there is a severe drought.
Interplants well with pink garden phlox, purple coneflowers, sedum, and/or pink lilies. Pink shrub roses make an excellent shrub companion. And decorative grasses provide a lovely backdrop.
How can I tell whether it’s Russian sage?
Russian sage perennially has lavender-purple flowers. These tall, airy flowers provide a lavender-blue color cloud.
Russian sage blooms from July until October, one month after Salvia.
Foliage & Branching Habits: Like Salvia, Russian Sage belongs to the mint family. It has square stems, opposite blue-green leaves, and a similar appearance. Rubbing Russian sage leaves releases a minty scent as well. With its fern-like foliage, Russian Sage sets itself apart from Salvia. It gets pretty tall and spreads out low before drooping heavily to the ground.
Size & Growth: Russian Sage matures to a height of about 3 feet and a width of at least 3 feet. It is a shrub-like plant with woody stems.
Russian sage can withstand drought and is insect and deer resistant. Their enticing aroma attracts pollinators. Russian Sage is a wonderful partner for succulents, ornamental grasses, butterfly bushes, and other perennials like cone flowers, milkweed, and bee balm since it enjoys the heat and summer sun. Early spring is the best time to prune Russian Sage.
Is Russian sage contagious?
Either early spring or late fall are suitable times to plant Russian sage. To encourage proper drainage and guarantee a successful overwinter, choose a sunny location for your plants with soil that is on the grittier side (sandier loam).
Light: Russian sage should be grown in full sunlight. The plant will flop over and get leggier in partial sunlight.
Russian sage is a great choice for rocky, less fertile, poorer soils. It thrives in alkaline environments (pH > 7) but is intolerant to soggy, acidic soils.
Russian sage should be planted 24 inches apart to allow for the ultimate spread of the plant.
Slow-growing and unable to spread, Russian sage develops a woody stem structure at the base of the plant. It can produce offsets (‘mini’ plants with incomplete root systems’) at the base once it reaches maturity.
Russian sage should be planted in the early spring or early fall to give its roots time to grow over the off-season.
Does Russia have a dwarf sage?
Blue Lacy Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia Lacey Blue) is a true dwarf cultivar that was recently imported to the US after being found in an English garden. When space is a concern and a scaled-down version of Russian Sage is necessary, its lesser size makes it highly beneficial. drought-tolerant or drought-resistant plants (xeric).
Reduce the amount of Russian sage?
Russian sage is a fuss-free perennial that adds color all season long and is drought resistant. With a modest 28- to 32-inch height, “Denim ‘n Lace” manages the towering and floppy growth of classic Russian sage. Plants that are fully colored resemble lavender. In Zones 4–9, hardy. Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Denim ‘n Lace’ is its botanical name.
Pruning Russian sage requires courage. Russian sage pruning can be intimidating at first, but once you get the hang of it, your plants will become stronger and fuller and put up a more attractive flower display. Although taking tip cuttings may qualify as a pruning action by genuine botanists, pruning is not a part of the propagation of Russian sage.
Russian sage is normally pruned by the regular gardener at the beginning and end of the growth season. With its purple flower spires, Russian sage creates a purple haze in gardens starting in mid- to late summer. The silver-gray stems are encircled by whorls of the fuzzy blossoms, creating an intriguing sight. Plantings are given a great dramatic flair by foot-long flower heads. Pruning Russian sage in the spring properly paves the way for a stunning flower display.
Russian sage’s stems change from being green, soft, and succulent to having a woody component as it ages throughout the growing season. This kind of perennial flower is referred to by gardeners as a semi-woody perennial or shrubby perennial. Russian sage stems should be cut back to 18 inches at the end of the flowering season in cold climates, when the blooms have faded and a deadly frost has occurred. For a more interesting winter garden view, skip the pruning and leave the stems alone. In the coldest regions where Russian sage is hardy, it is good to leave stems in place. zone 4 and zone 5.
Stems freeze as winter approaches and subfreezing temperatures take hold. Depending on how cold it gets and how long it lasts, stems may or may not freeze to the point of death. Russian sage has two sites where new growth appears in the spring: the stems and the plant’s crown, which is where the stem tissue and roots converge. Typically, the crown is hardly visible above ground.
On Russian sage, a harsh winter may kill all of the aboveground stems, and only the crown produces new growth. Stems may only partially die back during milder winters. In this situation, the Russian sage would produce new growth from both the stems and the crown.
Snip stems back to 12 to 18 inches as springtime approaches. Leave 18 inches in place if you’re cleaning up your garden well before the last average frost date. Cut stems down to 12 inches or less if there is no longer any risk of frost.
Zones 4 to 9 are hardy for Russian sage. It might not die back significantly, if at all, throughout the winter in warmer areas. After the blossoms have faded and when winter has arrived, Russian sage should be pruned in regions with mild winters. If you don’t want to see stems throughout the winter, you can give them a severe pruning now, trimming them to a height of 6 to 12 inches. Otherwise, wait until very early spring or late winter to perform a rigorous pruning.
Pruning Russian sage right after after flowering in regions with lengthy growing seasons might encourage a second flush of bloom. Reduce plant growth by 50% to promote reblooming.
How tall can a Russian sage called Blue Steel grow?
A perennial with an upright growth habit and a height of 18–36 inches, Blue Steel Russian Sage has aromatic gray-green foliage and blue summer flowers on top the first year. Compared to other seed-grown Russian sage, growth is more constrained. Russian sage in blue steel is a great option for containers or the landscape. Plants can withstand heat, drought, and are hardy to zone 4 winters.
How can Russian sage be stopped from growing?
Our landscaper installed several Russian sage plants around five years ago, and they are a nuisance. There are three of them, all healthy and lovely, however they produce a lot of suckers and are challenging to remove.
I used to trim the originals back in the fall, but I stopped because I felt maybe I was encouraging them to spread. Last winter, I let them look scraggly, only to discover that they were still growing.
Russian sage appears to be a plant that can be described as both Jekyll and Hyde. Many of you “fortunate” people have plants that are too aggressive for their own good, but a few people I’ve spoken to don’t appear to have issues with the suckering.
It makes no difference whether you cut them back or not whether they succumb. I can’t give you a simple response. Planting Russian sage with a drip emitter or two close by in a dry, xeric environment seems to be one way to prevent the issue from happening. As a result, the plant usually stays in the irrigated area.
Although it doesn’t always succeed, most plants appear to conduct themselves better in these kinds of circumstances.
Planting a Russian sage inside of a “sleeve” that inhibits the plant’s subterranean runners, or rhizomes, from spreading out is another technique to keep it contained.
Use a plastic nursery pot that has had the bottom taken out. I would use one that was rather huge, maybe 1420 inches in diameter. Put the Russian sage in the center and bury it completely.
The plant won’t grow as large or vigorously as a result of this slight root restriction, but those rhizomes will still be present.
You should avoid beginning to apply herbicides. The ones that work have systemic effects and end up harming or destroying the mother plant.
There isn’t much of an alternative to using contact-type weed killers. These herbicides won’t harm the mother plant, but you must keep spraying for as long as you have the plant, and Russian sage is a semi-woody plant, so they don’t actually work that well on it.
Sucker Punch is a substance that slows the suckering of problematic plants like these. After removing the suckers, you spray the solution on the ends that you just cut. It prevents the plant in that location from sucking.
Even though you’ll have to do it every year, at least you’ll be free of those bothersome suckers!
The only other choice is to keep excavating the suckers like you’ve been doing it all along.
Since it is difficult and messy job, as you indicated, many people eventually just dig the plant up and get rid of it completely.
What does the Russian sage from Little Spire look like?
Russian sage, or Perovskia ‘Little Spire,’ is a small, tall, deciduous subshrub with terminal panicles of tiny violet-blue flowers on slender white stalks and scented, finely divided, gray-green leaves. This delicate-looking plant is a toughy that is resistant to drought, heat, pests, and poor soils, blooming for weeks from mid-summer to fall. It is attractive and great for xeriscaping, and even in winter, when the stems make a lovely feature in the landscape, it is a very valuable addition to the garden. As is typical of Russian Sage, this brief sample does not flop over. ideal for compact gardens.
- Usually reaches heights and widths of 18 to 24 inches (45-60 cm).
- The plant thrives in full sun and ordinary to medium dry, well-drained soil. tolerant of salt and drought.
- No significant pest or disease problems. resistant to deer and rabbits.
- attracts large numbers of hummingbirds, butterflies, and pollinating bees.
- Russian sage looks lovely when planted singly, in groups to increase its presence, or even in a linear mass for knot gardens or modest divider hedges in dry settings with other desert plants, in cottage or Mediterranean gardens. It contrasts brilliantly with the bright colors of Echinacea (Coneflower), Helenium (Sneezeweed), and clump-forming grasses and pairs beautifully with other gray-leaved plants like Lavender.
- As soon as new growth starts to show in late winter or early spring, prune plants almost to the ground.
- Propagate using softwood cuttings in the late spring or summer using semi-ripe cuttings.
- Perovskia atriplicifolia is indigenous to Tibet and Central Asia at altitudes up to 8,000 feet (Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.).
Is Russian sage known by another name?
Salvia yangii is a blooming herbaceous perennial plant and subshrub that was once known as Perovskia atriplicifolia (/prvskitrplsfoli/) and is also referred to as Russian sage. Although it wasn’t once a part of Salvia, the genus that is often known as sage, it has been incorporated since 2017. [2] [3] It has an erect habit and normally grows to a height of 0.51.2 meters (1+124 feet). The gray-green leaves have square stalks and emit a peculiar odor when crushed. Its flowers are its best-known feature. Mid-summer to late October is when it blooms, with blue to violet blossoms arranged into opulent, branching panicles.
It grows naturally on the hills and steppes of southwest and central Asia. It has since gained popularity and been planted worldwide because it is successful in a wide range of climatic and soil conditions. Numerous cultivars have been created, with the most popular being called “Blue Spire.” These cultivars vary mainly in leaf shape and overall height. This variant has been extensively used in landscaping and gardens. S. yangii was named 1995 Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Association, and the cultivar “Blue Spire” was given the Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society.
In its native habitat, the species has a long history of usage in traditional medicine and is used to cure a wide range of illnesses. The examination of its phytochemistry has resulted from this. The plant has been investigated for potential application in the phytoremediation of contaminated soil. Its blossoms can be used in salads or crushed to make dye.