My garden nursery had a sale (if you can call it that) on their perennials which of course half of them were mostly dead but some still looked pretty good. They had a lot of salvia but nothing I did not already have. I did however find a tree/bush that stands about 3 1/2 feet tall. At first I thought it was a butterfly bush because of the leaves. Then got closer and saw it had small purple flowers on it, I think the flowers will get bigger but at this time they are small. So I looked at the card they had with it and it said sage. I had to get the plant because it was some kind of sage and because it was such a big healthy looking plant. Even when I checked out they tried not to give me the discount price because they kept thinking it was a shrub. I was just wondering if anyone knows what kind of sage this might be? It is definitely not your run of the mill salvia plant. This looks like it would be a tree eventually. Anyone have any idea? Sorry I don't have a picture as I don't have a camera worth a hoot so I understand if I don't get any answers. Just thought someone might have one of these bushes/trees and could give me some info on it.
Thanks so much.
Leslie
Sage Tree???
Well, there aren't any salvias that become trees, but some of them can get pretty large. Since there are several of them at least that could get 3-1/2 feet tall, it may be hard to get an ID without a picture. However, one thing to consider (since you mentioned that the leaves looked like a butterfly bush), is that one of the common names for some of the Buddlejas is "sagewood". I'm not sure if it's applied to all the Buddlejas or just some, but it could very well be one of those instead (there are many different species, so if the flowers didn't look like typical butterfly bush flowers that doesn't necessarily mean it's not a Buddleja). If you go back there, check to see if the plant has a square stem, if it does then it could be a salvia, but if it doesn't then it's not. My guess would be that it's not a Salvia since they're typically smaller when they're sold at the nursery, some of them get large once you put them in the garden, but I haven't typically seen them sold already at a large size.
This is why I like to use the botanical name of plants. I see Caryopteris nicknamed 'blue mist spirea' (for example). Caryopteris does not equal Spirea. They appear similar but are not the same. They also require different growing conditions. I have seen this in reputable mailorder nurseries. Maybe the nursery you purchased it from can research the plant and find the correct name from their supplier... they really should have no problem.
Common names of plants are fun and give them character. I love calling a group of plants 'spurges' or 'panic grasses' (also called 'switch grass'). I believe nurseries need to educate their customers with both the botanical and common names of plants. Yall can choose what you want to use.
I would love to see a Salvia grow into a tree. That would be awesome! Peonies do. Go figure.
Well, there are some tree-like sages, but they are very unlikely to be sold at a big box store. Salvia regla, and S. sessei develop to 10 - 15 feet, form a durable (if soft) wood, are deciduous, but have large orange flowers. The attached image is the Salvia regla on a Coahuila state highway in Jame which I collected seed from. Plant Delights selection came from this 15 foot tree. I did not have the time to wait for the sun to get covered by clouds, so it is difficult to see the trunk.
There are arborescent Salvias in Cuba and Argentina as well, but these are not collected, let alone in cultivation.
The reglas will only get to half their wild size in the USA in the warmest zones, but are quite spectacular when in bloom. They are hardy to USDA Zone 7, but stay as shrubs unless you protect the trunk from hard freezes.
Could your bush be a Perovskia? They can get quite tall and have small blue-lavender flowers.
This time of year, clueless big box stores might be offering some cultivars of Leucophyllum frutescens, which they list on their tags sometimes as, among other common names, "Texas Sage". Maybe that's what you found?
All great answers guys. And you are right, there is no telling when these places label these if they even know what they are talking about. Prime example is Lowe's. I get a black and blue salvia and it is labled, salvia, annual. That is it. A very generic tag for these guys. Am going to check the plant out more thoroughly for you guys and will have better descriptions I hope. Thanks for trying so far though. Will be back.
Leslie
Rich I believe you've got it. I looked up the perovskia here on Dave's and several of the pictures look just like it. Some of the pics have fancier leaves than mine does but some of them look like they just have straight leaves. I really do believe that is it. And from the looks of it, it seems to be a wonderful plant/bush, whatever. Thank you so much. You are brilliant. There is one great pic on there of a praying mantis on the plant. Beautiful shot. Seems to be a butterfly and hummingbird magnet which is all I could ask for.
Again thanks so much for helping me with this. Yall are all the best.
Leslie
I had thought that nurseries in the UK and Holland were notorious for mis-naming plants.....this is sometimes deliberate....just to give a Salvia (or other genuses) a name which will appeal to the public, in order to promote sales from the garden centre outlets.
This unfortunate trait seems to have spread to the USA. There are a few well-known nurseries in the USA who are selling Salvias with somewhat ridiculous names! Even if the botanical name sounds unattractive....sinaloensis or subpalmatinervis for example..at least we might know what we are discussing, if we know which plant is in question.
This annoys me intensely, and this is why I would strongly recommend specialist nurseries, where you are more likely to get a correctly named plant, Salvia or otherwise. But even with these, there may be errors.
Don't mean to sound stroppy...I am not like that! New hybrids and cultivars can be named as whatever one's fancy takes. But Please, don't give fancy names to the species!
Best regards,
Robin, in a currently gloomy UK.
I totally agree with Robin, there is enough confusion with some off the salvia species without nurseries adding to the dilemma.
Go the Humble salvia:)
I agree with Robin also. Most of mine I have purchased mail order. Do you think they are a little better at being more accurate with the species? It is just pathetic sometimes what you have to deal with at these nurseries. Especially someone that does not have much knowledge of plants. I like to think I have a pretty good knowledge of plants, mainly generic knowledge, but when you are looking for a specific plant and they have these vague names on them or no name at all, it really is a shame. And by all means I am not tooting my horn here. My grandma, mom and I have always been a great fan of plants, flowers, etc. So I know pretty much a geranium from a pansy if you know what I mean. I really don't think I know that much until I am talking to someone else about plants and they have no clue what I am talking about. But then again they have hobbies I am sure I know nothing about. So I do find myself getting a little angry sometimes that these people should be experts in what they are selling and they don't even bother to research the plant or let the customer know the exact plant they are getting. I mean it is almost to the point where they should name them "purple flower, annual" or "green leaves, perennial". I mean really.
Leslie
What I wonder about is the nomenclature of hybrids. I'm growing a lot of salvia so I'll inevitably getting crosses. Since I don't have years of experience with the genus, I'll be unable to tell whether this is a common cross, unusual cross or even 'which' cross. Since I'm assuming this to be true of possibly many other growers, how many hybrids are there out there that are possibly identical, with different names that someone has given them. I myself would list them as seedling 'from' such and such plant, but as has been shown with cutesy names given to plants, how many of these growers would stick a name on it of their choosing? What are the means by which a new hybrid is proven and named?
Sherry