PlantFiles: Russian Sage
Perovskia atriplicifolia

i love this plant in other people's gardens. I have about 6 of them, but am frustrated that none look all that great. They just haven't grown much. Some were planted in full sun, very poor sandy soil, 4 years ago. Others in part sun, good soil, 2 years ago. I've tried various amounts of water and neglect.

I have five (5) of these in front of the retaining wall that holds up my city yard. (See picture to the right) They flower continuously from late June through the end of the season.

They do have a tendency to fall into my sidewalk mid-season... I like to think of it as dog control, as most dog walkers switch to the other side of the street because of this and the bees, which are inevitably attracted to this plant.

Last year I had a lot of volunteer seedlings come up. I waited until they got about 8 inches high and then dug several up to share with friends and family. The rest I disposed of. Today I noticed it coming up everywhere in the area... around the existing plants, in the cracks of the sidewalk and in the Ajuga bed that is my tree lawn across the sidewalk. The seedlings do come up easily, thus a small price to pay for one of my favorite plants.

I have had this plant at the top of my herb garden for 8 years. It stands about 5' tall & 6' across and is in constant bloom from late spring through frost. It's the tallest plant in the garden but also has no problem with draping beautifully down the wall. The crown has gotten wider over the years but I have never had a problem with it invading into its neighbors' territory nor with shoots or seedlings in the yard. Mine is not very easy to propagate by softwood cuttings, maybe 4 in 20 take root each year, but each one is a treasure as all of my friends & family want a scion. New spring branchlets tend to propagate best.

We have an extremely high level of deer activity in our yard, and in two years they haven't so much as nibbled! Yay!!!!

I love this plant that is beginning its third year in my garden. Gave it a hard pruning in early spring and now on May 13 there are many flower buds forming. I can't believe how long and abundantly blooming this pretty plant is.

I love this plant. It's now 5 yrs old and doing wonderfully. Winters here can get to -30F a few days every year but R.Sage has come back bigger each summer. It blooms here from late July to hard frost. I'll be trying to separate some offshoots next spring, or seed. Whichever works best.

This plant is lovely! I have had it at the foot of a pink-white bi-color crape myrtle and they look beautiful together. I have not found it to be invasive after 4 years. Perhaps conditions aren't ideal for its spreading. Unlike others, I have not noticed hummers near it. It grows and blooms with almost no water. Its soil is particularly sandy, an unusual soil type in my yard. I am going to try my hand at progating it!

My Russian sage tumbles over the edge of a stone fence in a sunny spot in front of a dogwood tree. I pruned it heavily last fall as it was about six feet around and 3-4 feet tall. It is larger than ever and seems to have creeped under the concrete steps and on into another bed of ferns and ivy that is actually pretty shady. Lovely look and the smell of the crushed leaves is great. I am planting more in a sunny area with broom, spirea, lavender, yarrow and soon to be some heather and tall grasses. I never thought of the sunflowers, but have plenty of sun on a sloping edge of the garden, so they might be a nice complement.

Ive had this plant for over five years now and really love it. I have mine in the back of the border and it makes a wonderful backdrop for my other plants. Pretty lavender colored flowers. Very drought tolerant and hardy. Mine is in partial sun, and is about 3-and a half feet tall and wide. It would probably get even larger if it were in full sun. Have had several volunteers come up from it. Would definitely recommend this plant!

My single Russian sage has been a highlight in one of my garden areas near the road for over 5 years. Last fall, a few babies popped up near it, and this spring, I have lots to move around and share! A striking display can be seen at the Kirkwood Equestrian Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where multiple sages have been given room to grow without competition, surrounded by dark mulch, and lovely in all 4 seasons.

Nice subtle color. Fragrant. Bees love it. Nice winter interest.

So far no luck for me with this plant but it's doing well at my sister's in Goffstown, NH. Her soil is much sandier and drier than mine though. But I've tried moving it so we'll see how it does.

We have a lavender farm here in Idaho. Zone 5-6. I wanted something that would prolong the purple color in my fields and around a canal. Well, I sure got it. I love this plant. I cannot wait for it to naturalize itself throughout the area. I have had lots of people comment on it as we also put a row (hedge like) up into the lavender field. It was flanked with a row of teddy bear sunflowers. BEAUTIFUL color. I had a lady use the teddy bear sunflowers and Russian Sage in buckets for a wedding.

I will prune to 6 inches in spring as recommended and will either try to take seeds to scatter or cuttings to sell as many of my customers want this along with snow in the summer that I planted and of course the teddy bear sunflower seeds.

I am still unsure of the propagation methods but will give it a try. I do propagate my own lavender so this cannot be too far of a stretch. I will even try to dry some sage and add it to the dried lavender to create "smudge sticks" to burn. This should be intresting. Thanks Peggy

I moved into a house 2 years ago that had 7 of these growing. They are quite beautiful and bloom mid-June through Sept. in Santa Fe. The humming birds and bees love them. I don't water them much, the only real care is pruning them in early spring. My only problem with them is they are somewhat invasive. I have dozens - maybe hundreds of new plants coming up up to 25 feet away for the original plants (starting from seeds) and they also grow from shoots underground. If you plant one, make sure you account for weeding time!

I've collected seeds in 2003. Just put your hand around a dried flowerstalk and rip the seeds of. They look a little wooly and at first sight you think they cannot be seeds. But they are ! They were easy to sow. I've followed the instructions from Tom Clothier's site: " Sow at 20ºC (68ºF), if no germ. in 3-4 wks, move to -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 2-4 wks ". I've planted the seedlings already out in the garden where they grow quick.

I love its scent and silvery/blue transparent look when they are mature.

I have grown Russian Sage in my zone 4-5 garden near Cooperstown, New York for about ten years. My one plant has survived winters where temperatures dropped to -30 for two or three nights in a row for several of these years. The winter of 2003-04 was one of those. I noticed this spring that half the plant finally suffered winterkill. This fall I will see if I can divide it because it's been such a good old soldier, I really can't bear to just let it go. I'll report back what I find when I dig it up. I'll start cuttings outdoors and indoors this fall as well, with and without hormone powder, by way of experiment. I wish this plant would have seeded itself in, but oh, well. I've bought four new Russian Sage babies so next fall I should have the beginnings of a drift. It blooms late July and through most of August for me, starting about the same time as the giant white Casa Blanca lily, white echinaesia, yellow Tickseed coreopsis and blue milk thistle. My severely cut back Highbush Cranberry bushes also displays tons of red edible berries and provide lots of gorgeous background foliage for these late bloomers (I have kind of an herbal garden.) Plants that bloom in my garden following this are Sedum Autumn Joy, and autumn chrysanthemums all colors.

Pleasing appearance and scent endears Russian Sage to me, but ability to take heat and drought makes it easy. Have shared many little sages that have come from stem cuttings and have also moved some to other areas where its attractive silvery foliage draws the eye.

We planted Russian Sage last year. It didn't grow much, and it does lean toward the sun, as killerdaisy said. The crushed leaves smell great, and I was delighted when its bare winter sticks sprouted new growth this spring. I'll trim it to 6 inches, as sue1952 recommends and look forward to more growth.

In SE Michigan - This plant is great for sunny spots and very drought tolerant. Be sure to prune down to 6" in very early spring. I especially like to break off the branches in the dead of winter and take in the smell of sage from summer.

Perovskia is one of my all-time favorites because of its whispy form, glorious scent and ease of growth in mixed environments.

I have grown it in zone 7, New Mexico in extremely dry soil with intense summer sun and cool to cold winters, and am currently growing it in zone 9b in higher humidity and warm winters. I like to use this in my clients' yards because it's a great filler, a wonderful backdrop or spectacular specimen. I planted it in January with a few flowers and it's quickly bringing forth more profuse color along with some height and breadth to the plant's form.

So pleasing to the senses and extremely easy to grow. It also makes wonderful dried flowers! A staple in drought-tolerant landscapes!

The flowers taste sweet and can be used in salads. It is short-lived in havy, rich, moist soils.

This is an extremely hardy plant and beautiful in every season. The silver skeleton of winter adds interest and beauty to the dull browns of my garden.

Creates a sagelike scent when leaves are crushed. Tends to lean towards sun. Take cuttings in summer; no division necessary.