This darling was a scraggly plant about 18" tall back in mid May. It is now 10' wide and almost 6' tall. I cannot bear to cut it back as it is in full bloom and the hummer who owns it might take revenge. Lol. Its brother that I planted about 15 feet away is still a reasonable size. Must have found the sweet spot.
Might be handy to tell you that this is a Mexican Sage. Smells wonderful and the hummers love it.
Might be handy to tell you that this is a Mexican Sage. Smells wonderful and the hummers love it. The little male Anna's hummer who owns this bush will not even leave it when I come out to water. He just sits in the branches and "grumbles" until I leave.
Great pictures, Both of you!
Make sure you post 'em in the PDB. It doesn't look like there are any for Mexican sage yet.
I really like these and wish I were in a warmer zone.
Posted! who knew. They will grow well in pots too. You could just cut them way back in the fall and toss em in the garage and they would probably do ok. If you want some come spring, let me know.
frogsrus - I have one of these this year and I love it ...... when you say cut them way back - do you mean dig them up and replant in a pot and sit in the garage ? I'd love to have these again next year (without ordering from a nursery). Thanks
Mine stay in the ground and I cut them back to 12 to 18". They get way to big here if you do not give them the butch cut every now and again and yank the babies that spring up. They are hardy to zone 8a. I see no reason you could not pot it for the winter if you are colder than that. They are pretty sturdy.
Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was going to lose mine. I absolutely LOVE it and just figured out that it's not hardy to my zone. This pic was taken this morning.
Beautiful plant frogs! Is your second photo a "where's waldo" pic? I have looked at the enlargement for a long while, but see no hummingbird tenant?
No he is not in the picture. He will sit there and complain at me the whole time I am watering, maybe 18" from me with water precariously close to his little hummer self. Get a camera and he is history.
Smart bird, huh? LOL
This was the third year for mine and I it killed me to do it but I just cut it completely back, dug it up and moved it to another bed where it has more room. It was just getting too big!
It should recover just fine, Terrie, they are tough! I finally dug my big one out and replaced with the smaller Santa Barbara cultivar... it was that or hire a divorce lawyer, as my DH and I just could not agree on how often it needed those 'butch cuts'!
~'spin!~
Show a photo of it please, Crystal! Mine are too huge and I like them but they are hogging the front garden- there are 7 of the beasts out there!
Seven! Oh, my!! I started out the first year with three planted pretty close together. Boy was that a mistake. They took up the biggest part of one of my beds. Dug out two of the plants after the first season and gave them to my Dad. The one I had left had to have a haircut two often in the spot it was in, which almost insures you will have no flowers. I now have it in a bed with plenty of room (unless I keep buying more stuff from the co-ops, that is).
This picture is from this past July. You can only see the tips of the plant under the brug because it had just had a trim. The next picture is from last fall.
Fall picture.
Now this is overkill- Low maintenance but a blur of sage. It is coming out in the next month. Only 2 will get haircuts and be allowed to stay- one on each side of the front gate.
Daisy,
The one I cut back and transplanted about three weeks ago already has very healthy new growth. I think they will live through anything.
Yep! I have butchered these now many many times and they just grow and grow!
It isn't that I don't like them per se, there just needs to be some color other than purple and silver out there! The gate trellis has a healthy snail vine, behind the camera are 2 big Texas sages (barometer bushes) and the cosmos, echinacea, lantana, verbena, agapanthus etc just further the blur of purple.
Well I hope you have a good place to move the others to. If not, someone would probably take them off your hands. Once they are cut all the way down and the dirt washed off the roots, they are a breeze to deal with.
Yep maybe I will save em till spring for some folks who need them then ; )
daisy, I would love to take one off you hands next springs.
yardbird- Okay- put it on your calendar to remind me in spring- you know that I would share with you!! ; )
OMG! You have seven! Ya better find a needy canyon to chuck them into. Isn't it amazing that so many of the xeriscape plants for CA are purple? or yellow? Makes me really fond of my pink guaras. Lol I guess that is what annuals are for-get a little color in while you may.
I would love some yellow- what do you have yellow?
The artemisias are yellow. Dusty miller is the most common of them. I had a sage that was yellow but I think a dog used it as a urinal and it has passed on. Now I have to find another one. Toadflax will stay a long time in our climate too. It comes in lots of colors.
My sages bloom yellow supposedly but didn't bloom this year. I think apiana blooms in spring so they probably weren't established enough. Dusty Miller was everywhere when we bought the house and I pulled most of it out. One is left actually.
In my attempt to have less silver, I got some of the lemon yellow perennial sunflowers from High Country Gardens.
I will look into toadflax too- thanks!
If it is foliage you are looking for, I got this plectranthus from Happenstance and it is a beauty. It is out in the blazing sun, (coincidentally on the far side of yon monster sage.) It has not bloomed yet. If I remember correctly, it is blue. It is more golden than the picture shows. The celosias are doing famously out there as well. The red hot pokers also do not seem to mind iffy watering. They do not bloom long enough for me though. On the other hand, they do not get 6' tall either lol.
I plucked some of this plectanthus from a city garden. That's not stealing is it? LOL I hope not, anyways, I rooted it when I got home and now I have a thriving plant. Was planning on overwintering it and planting it in the ground come spring. Will this work?
It should. This plant seems to be a sunlover. One I had in a pot in the shade got leggy and lost many leaves so yours may not be thrilled about being housebound but should revive in spring. Mine got moved into the CA sun and is happier now.
Hi, Frogs, I could have sworn that I relplied to your plectranthus post 2 days agao but it vanished! Odd- anyways.
I do not have that beautiful variegated one. How fantastic looking is that? I have the white blooming one and it is part shade. Blooms constantly.
I will start you one and it should be in fine shape for the RU we are scheming on for spring.
I have three plecs that bloom white which do you have?
I have also sworn I posted things but seem to not have pushed the send button lol.
That is exactly what I must have done! lol Silly.
Oh I would love one thanks! I believe that I have the Silver Spurflower. The bloom is white like the Salvia Waverly with a touch of pink/lavender at the base.
Is there anything that you would like in exchange? The Salvia Waverly is quite nice.
Sounds great! I have a spurflower but the waverly sounds wonderful.
