Salvia greggiiAutumn Sage

Salvia greggii, Autumn Sage, is a small woody-based subshrub from the limestone country of Texas and northern Mexico. Fine aromatic foliage carries two-lipped flowers in red, coral, pink or white from spring right through to autumn, with the heaviest flush at the end of the season that gives the plant its name.

It flowers hard on stony, alkaline, poorly watered ground, which makes it one of the more useful colour plants for a gravel scheme or a hot dry border where irrigation is minimal.

Specifications

• Height0.6 to 1.2 metres
• Width0.6 to 1 metre
• Native toTexas and northern Mexico
• FoliageSmall, aromatic, mid-green oval leaves on woody-based stems; evergreen to semi-evergreen
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilRequires well-drained soils; thrives on rocky, poor and alkaline ground
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives in warm temperate, Mediterranean and semi-arid regions; frost hardy once established

Additional Features

• FlowersSmall two-lipped flowers in red, coral, pink or white from spring to autumn, heaviest in the autumn flush
• UsesIdeal for gravel and Mediterranean gardens, hot dry borders, mass planting, low informal edging and pollinator schemes
• SpacingPlant 0.5 to 0.7 metres apart for a continuous low mass
• Low MaintenanceCut back by about a third after the main flush to keep the plant compact and flowering
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient; the aromatic foliage is left alone by browsing animals
• Drought ToleranceFlowers freely on very little supplementary water
• Wildlife AttractionNectar-rich flowers are worked steadily by bees and butterflies

Autumn Sage is the low flowering shrub that keeps producing colour after the irrigation has been turned down.