I live in Montague, MI which is zone 5 and have had Russian sage plants for a number of years and cannot get them to grow to their full height or bloom. I've moved them to different locations and currently have two areas where they are planted - one which receives approximately 7-8 hours of sun and another which receives somewhat less sun. I don't have any areas where they can get sun from sun up to sun down as I live in the woods. They are in fairly average, well drained soil. Any suggestions?
Russian sage
Chery, I have Russian Sage it grows in full sun in average soil. One of the plants became totally hidden by a Baptisia that grew much faster than I expected it totally hid the Perovskia but it bloomed inspite of being in the shade. Sometimes the plant survives the winter then I do not cut it down in the spring. Due to the weather last winter I had to (many experts say to do this in any case since its growth will be more luxurious). No matter what I do it always blooms but some are not as tall as others.
Cheryl.........I live in Northern Michigan, probably as the crow flys stright east...stright on a line from Manistee on the Lake Huron side of our state. Zone 5 also....I myself can not get Russian Sage to grow either....*sigh*...so I live with it. Other plants thrive though, and if you have the solution please share it with me, as I love that plant.
Cheryl, I had the same problem with mine UNTIL I stopped moving them around. After a couple years in one place, they finally took off.
Thank you all for your replies. I guess the bottom line on my Russian Sage is to live with it or get rid of it if it continues with no bloom. I haven't moved it in a few years but I don't see any difference this year. Deann, if I find a solution I'll be sure to pass it on to you.
Hey all you Russian Sage growers! Maybe you can help me out. When we moved to this house last fall there were two bushes growing in a bed very near one another. They look very much alike, and both appear to be some sort of Salvia. One, however, has toothed leaves, very long and thin, and on the other the leaves are smooth. They are from 3 to maybe 5 1/2 feet tall, both bloom in the late summer or early fall with long purplish panicles. Both are deciduous. I've posted these pictures on the ID forum and so far one response is that one of the bushes appears to be Perovskia, while the other looks like Mexican Bush Sage. I looked on the PDB and it certainly does resemble the Salvia leucantha. The only problem there is that they are supposedly only hardy to zone 8 and we are in zone 6 (closed to Z5 much of the time). While the other may be Russian Sage, it doesn't look to me much like the pictures on the PDB and I've always read that the leaves when crushed are very fragrant, like most of the other sages. Can you all take a peek at these pictures and tell me what you think?
A closeup of the smooth leaved one.
A longshot of the one with jagged leaves.
And its closeup.
sharvis, are those current pictures, I ask because my perovskia has been in bloom for at least a month. Mine blooms very well but even tho being in full sun still is floppy. I have actually 3 or 4 others in a different location. I planted one and it self seeded so there are several there now. Wish I could be of more help. You being in KF are about a zone warmer than here. Right now it is 100 outside and has been in high 90s or 100 all week and sorrowfully no rain predicted. I am leaving early Sunday morning with 3 friends to go on the Amsterdam cruise ship inside passage to Alaska. I am working as hard as I can to try to get everything well watered before I leave. The fellow who has worked for me on and off for 15 years is going to come and try to do his best to keep my 2 1/5 acres moist. The soil here is sandy and dries out very fast. Donna
Donna, yes, I just took the pictures the other day. They are just now beginning, as you can see. Someone on the ID forum suggested Buddleia for the one with the long panicle and the smooth leaves and I'm beginning to wonder if she might be right. But if that is so, the one with the toothed leaves has to be something else. The funny thing is that both bushes look a great deal alike in their foliage and growth pattern, but tho they look like salvias to me, they just don't have the fragrance that I've come to expect. Last year they bloomed pretty well in partial shade and were blooming in September, when we moved here. They seem to be preparing to do the same thing this year. I'm at a complete loss, but thanks for your thoughts.
Lucky you to be going on an Alaskan cruise! I've always wanted to do that and just never got around to it. I'm not sure where Tonasket is, but I know for certain it's not anywhere near Seattle. I lived there for a couple of years a while back and can't remember it ever getting anywhere near 100. Are you in the mountains, or in eastern Washington?
Butterfly Bush is what I thought as soon as I saw the 1st 2 pics. Post another pic of the flower when fully opened.
The second set of pics....I'm not sure - do the blooms look the same on both? Except for the leaf edges, the growth habit does look similar.