From Lowe's, Planted in fall 2017
Perovskia atriplicifolia 'Lacey Blue'
From High Country Gardens, Planted in fall 2018
Photos
Expectations:
Cut back hard every year in spring to keep heavy blooming
Russian sage is considered a weed in Santa Fe, much overused on median strips and commercial properties and in everyone's yard. It seeds and spreads and is considered invasive. The runners it sends out are hard to pull up
But oh my, how beautiful. Starting in late June the shrubby sages bloom all over town and everywhere in the neighborhood in jeweled tones and I love them.
The dwarf 'Lacey Blue' plant will eventually be just a foot tall and wide. Its is supposed to be full and bushy with very large flowers.
Experiences:
I planted one in front at the corner of the driveway, out in the gravel in hot sun. Later, worried about spreading and aggressiveness, I took it out and put it in the common area in pure sand. I just didn't want to keep after spread and seeding out by the driveway all the time.
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| August 4, 2021 |
In the fall of 2018 I got a true compact dwarf variety, 'Lacey Blue'.
When first planted it wasn't much to look at until the third summer. It took a while to put on any growth at all.
I put it at the end of the strip under the kitchen window. It's hot and dry there, and the space is very narrow, so it should be suitable for the site.
I put it at the end of the strip under the kitchen window. It's hot and dry there, and the space is very narrow, so it should be suitable for the site.
It's not really purple as the picture shows, more like a dusty gray blue especially in full sun. Not really as bright as advertised, but still nice.
By 2023 and 2024 it was putting on some size and blooming reliably. It looks nice between the urn and the tall grasses.
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| September 3, 2023 |
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I could not get Russian sage to grow in my old garden in Connecticut -- too wet, and winters did them in.
I could not get Russian sage to grow in my old garden in Connecticut -- too wet, and winters did them in.
And yet one of my favorite photos is of a large stand of Russian sage growing along stone stairs in wet northeast conditions at Berkshire Botanical Garden -- how beautiful in a shaded woodland setting.
