Russian Sage
Ooof, another gardening dream dies as I learn what to grow in this climate.
For years in damp, humid Connecticut I tried to grow Russian sage, a beautiful plant with shimmering purple spikes in late summer. There was a stand of them next to steps at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Massachusetts, but generally Russian sage didn't do well in the northeast.
Mine never took, melted out in winter and simply refused to thrive. So I gave up.
When we arrived in Santa Fe our first summer, I saw gorgeous Russian sages all over town. Weeds, really, growing in unwatered road strips and at gas stations. But so beautiful. The dry, sandy conditions here are ideal for it. So I planted one by the corner of our driveway, out in full sun and in crappy sandy soil in gravel mulch. Finally!
And then the gardeners I met and the neighbors who passed by and the people who saw my Russian sage out there by the street started to comment. The general sentiment was Ack. No. You will be sorry. Take it out. Eeesh.
Russian sage in this climate is aggressive and spreads by runners all over and can't be controlled.
I discounted all that -- I planned to keep after any spreading and cut back any runners -- but then my friend Andrea came by. Let's go for a walk, she said. Let's check out the neighborhood.
At each corner and next to each coyote fence along the sidewalk she pointed out the endless wild encroachments of Russian sage that had spread from under the other side of the fences. Sidewalk cracks and driveway edges had sprouted runners. The stuff was everywhere.
In her own garden (she lives around the corner from me) she had planted Russian sage and she showed me how it had spread and taken over. She regretted putting it in, and despite weeding and chopping at it, she did not have it under control. It wasn't as simple as pulling seedlings -- the runners the plant sends out are tough and very hard to pull up.
I have planted a problem. A beautiful, long desired one. But a problem.
And . . . here's the update. I moved the Russian sage I had planted out into the common area where just about nothing grows in patches of sand. We'll see. It can spread there, if it will in such inhospitable conditions, and that will be fine.
In its spot, in place of pride by the front corner of our yard, where you can see it when you pull into our driveway, I put in a Mojave sage -- Salvia pachyphylla.
Silver gray leaves, mounding plant, odd magenta flowers with blue bracts, well behaved. The Santa Fe Botanical garden has a couple and they are stellar.
That's what I put in to replace the Russian sage. I'm adaptable. This may work, But original gardening dreams die hard.
For years in damp, humid Connecticut I tried to grow Russian sage, a beautiful plant with shimmering purple spikes in late summer. There was a stand of them next to steps at Berkshire Botanical Garden in Massachusetts, but generally Russian sage didn't do well in the northeast.
Mine never took, melted out in winter and simply refused to thrive. So I gave up.
When we arrived in Santa Fe our first summer, I saw gorgeous Russian sages all over town. Weeds, really, growing in unwatered road strips and at gas stations. But so beautiful. The dry, sandy conditions here are ideal for it. So I planted one by the corner of our driveway, out in full sun and in crappy sandy soil in gravel mulch. Finally!
And then the gardeners I met and the neighbors who passed by and the people who saw my Russian sage out there by the street started to comment. The general sentiment was Ack. No. You will be sorry. Take it out. Eeesh.
Russian sage in this climate is aggressive and spreads by runners all over and can't be controlled.
I discounted all that -- I planned to keep after any spreading and cut back any runners -- but then my friend Andrea came by. Let's go for a walk, she said. Let's check out the neighborhood.
At each corner and next to each coyote fence along the sidewalk she pointed out the endless wild encroachments of Russian sage that had spread from under the other side of the fences. Sidewalk cracks and driveway edges had sprouted runners. The stuff was everywhere.
In her own garden (she lives around the corner from me) she had planted Russian sage and she showed me how it had spread and taken over. She regretted putting it in, and despite weeding and chopping at it, she did not have it under control. It wasn't as simple as pulling seedlings -- the runners the plant sends out are tough and very hard to pull up.
I have planted a problem. A beautiful, long desired one. But a problem.
And . . . here's the update. I moved the Russian sage I had planted out into the common area where just about nothing grows in patches of sand. We'll see. It can spread there, if it will in such inhospitable conditions, and that will be fine.
In its spot, in place of pride by the front corner of our yard, where you can see it when you pull into our driveway, I put in a Mojave sage -- Salvia pachyphylla.
Silver gray leaves, mounding plant, odd magenta flowers with blue bracts, well behaved. The Santa Fe Botanical garden has a couple and they are stellar.
That's what I put in to replace the Russian sage. I'm adaptable. This may work, But original gardening dreams die hard.
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