2 days Ago By STEPHEN BRUEGGERHOFF
Spring is in full swing, and you still have time to get cucumbers, watermelon, winter squash, cow and cream peas, and our much-loved okra into your garden by seed or transplant. Regarding ornamental plantings, I suggest thinking about plants that provide a resource for pollinators. I offer focus to one of my favorite plant groups to stock our landscapes: salvias, also commonly referred to as sage.
No, not the familiar drought tolerant and tall bush Cenizo, also called Texas sage (Leucophyllum species) that proffer lavender-colored blossoms after rain. I offer sage advice about Salvia, the smaller stature perennials that offer a variety of leaf textures and flower color, and a nectar source for pollinators. Globetrotters and pollinator magnets Salvia is a large genus of the Mint Plant Family (Lamiaceae), with an estimated 900 species found globally and over 500 species native to North, Central and South America.
Characteristics of Salvia species are consistent, with bold flower colors paired along 3- to 9-inch floral stems, a broad floral shape called a raceme that appears as colorful wands dancing gracefully in the wind. All species produce two-lipped flowers, tube-shaped and sometimes present with a flat face. If you look closely, you will see two bottom petals fused to form a kind of landing pad for insects to explore for nectar.
These colorful racemes are also highly attractive for hummingbird visitation. All have a manageable growing height, outstanding leaf texture and sometimes pleasant vegetative fragrance. One salvia we might see at nurseries is Autumn sage, Salvia greggii, a Texas native distributed from south-central and west Texas to San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
Autumn sage forms a compact 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide shrub that can be managed in full sun and is drought tolerant. Depending on your local soil profile, you may have to plant this species in a raised bed in well-draining, enriched soil. It produces thin, almost waxy leaves up to 1/4-inch wide and 1-inch long on brittle woody stems.
The beauty of this shrub lies in its ability to bloom from spring through first frost. Flower color ranges from red, pink, orange, and white to magenta. I recently planted a selection of the species called Mirage Rose Bicolor Autumn Sage, exhibiting pink-blush on the upper petals and descending to pure white on the lower.
Autumn sage and cultivars present a short floral tube with a flat face that I mentioned earlier; if you look at them straight on, they kind of resemble a dancer in gaucho pants. Another commonly found salvia at local nurseries is Tropical sage, S. coccinea.
Tropical sage can be managed in part-shade to full sun areas of the garden. Like Autumn sage, it can bloom on and off from spring to first frost. This species exhibits larger leaves, up to 1-inch wide and is less drought tolerant.
The plant has more of an upright growth, and in flower can reach 3 feet tall. Floral colors range from red, pink to white. From sprawl to tall growth habit Another commonly available species is Texas native Mealyblue sage, S.
farinacea. This perennial has a sprawling growth habit, reaching 2 feet tall and producing velvety purple flowers on floral spikes extending 1 foot beyond its canopy. Mealyblue sage will bloom sporadically from spring to fall and is drought tolerant.
There are two outstanding selections discovered by AgriLife Extension Horticulturist Greg Grant that are popular favorites. Texas Superstar ‘Henry Duelberg’ stands out with bright-purple flowers and wider lance-shaped leaves, and variety ‘Augusta Duelberg’, offering more compact spikes of flowers that are white. Additional varieties and hybrids you may consider for the garden with a taller profile and offer larger, tubular-shaped flowers are ‘Amistad’, a hybrid with South American species Salvia guaranitica and shows off with rose-purple petals and calyx, or species selection ‘Black and Blue’ with deep purple petals and almost black calyx.
You may consider Salvia Skyscraper Red, very eye-catching with pure red flowers. Keep in mind these varieties are frost tender and will need protection during the winter months. I suggest planting singly in a prominent spot in the garden with a background offering contrasting colors to draw out the vibrant colors offered by these varieties.
I leave you with two more drought tolerant and hardy salvia, Texas Superstar plants ‘Mystic Spires Blue’, a hybrid with compact growth up to 30 inches with true-blue flowers, and Mexican bush sage, Salvia leucantha, habit 3 feet tall and wide and with velvet-textured spikes of purple and white blossoms. I offer sage advice with gardening tips every two weeks courtesy of The Eagle, and I recommend you encourage your friends to subscribe so you don’t miss out. You can also check out my live call-in garden show Garden Success airing weekly at noon Thursdays on KAMU-FM 90.
9 and chat about the best gardening practices. Share your knowledge, my fellow Brazos County residents, and I’ll see you in the garden..
