Leucophyllum frutescensTexas Sage

The Leucophyllum frutescens, or Texas Sage, is a compact silver-grey shrub out of the Chihuahuan Desert, and it is among the most useful plants available for hot alkaline ground. Small felted leaves give the plant its pale colour, and every rise in humidity triggers a flush of bell-shaped magenta to lavender flowers, which is why it is also called the barometer bush.

It asks for sharp drainage, full sun and very little water, and it will refuse heavy irrigation outright, which makes it a natural fit for medians, verges and desert schemes.

Specifications

• Height1 to 2.5 metres
• Width1 to 2 metres
• Native toThe Chihuahuan Desert of northern Mexico and southern Texas
• FoliageSmall, oval, silvery-grey felted leaves held densely on fine stems; evergreen
• Growth rateSlow to moderate

Conditions

• SoilRequires sharply drained gravelly, sandy or alkaline soils; rots in heavy or over-irrigated ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterVery low; strongly drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in arid and semi-arid regions, including sites with heavy reflected heat

Additional Features

• FlowersFlushes of bell-shaped magenta to lavender flowers triggered by rising humidity or rainfall
• UsesIdeal for desert and xeric schemes, median and verge planting, low hedging and mass shrub beds
• SpacingPlant 1 to 1.5 metres apart for a continuous mass or low hedge
• Low MaintenanceNeeds almost nothing beyond an occasional light shear; do not overwater and do not over-fertilise
• Pest ResistanceGenerally trouble-free where drainage is sharp
• Drought ToleranceBuilt for extended drought and reflected heat, and better for being kept dry
• Salt ToleranceTolerates saline and strongly alkaline soils that defeat most flowering shrubs

Texas Sage is one of the few shrubs that will flower repeatedly on a hot alkaline median with almost no water reaching it.