Salvia leucanthaMexican Bush Sage

The Salvia leucantha, commonly known as Mexican Bush Sage, throws long arching spikes of velvety purple calyces from late summer into autumn, each carrying a white or purple flower, over narrow grey-green leaves that are white and woolly on the reverse.

It is planted in dry mass borders, median strips and roadside beds, where it flowers hardest at the end of the season when most other shrubs have finished.

Specifications

• Height0.8 to 1.2 metres
• Width1 to 1.5 metres
• Native toCentral and eastern Mexico
• FoliageNarrow grey-green leaves, white-woolly beneath; evergreen in frost-free climates
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilPrefers well-drained soils and tolerates poor ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow to moderate; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in warm temperate, Mediterranean and subtropical regions; tips are damaged by frost

Additional Features

• FlowersArching spikes of velvety purple calyces with white or purple flowers, late summer into autumn
• UsesIdeal for dry mass borders, median and roadside planting, gravel gardens and cut flower
• SpacingPlant 0.8 to 1 metre apart for a continuous mass
• Low MaintenanceCut back hard in late winter to keep the plant compact and flowering well
• Pest ResistanceGenerally robust and free of significant problems
• Drought ToleranceFlowers reliably on low water once established
• Wildlife AttractionHeavily worked by bees and nectar-feeding birds
• Seasonal AppealPeaks in autumn, filling the gap between summer and winter planting

Mexican Bush Sage carries a dry border through autumn on very little water, and the velvet flower spikes read from a distance.