Ethereal Clouds for the Garden: Now That's Perovskia

Clouds of pale lavender and silver-gray turn a garden bed with many plants we expect to see into something quite unexpected and magical. The bluish lavender blooms of Perovskia, or Russian Sage, look lacy amid silvery branches that are the right shade and thinness to take the form of delicate floral puffs. Cloudlike, heavenly… that is Perovskia, or Russian Sage.

My introduction to Perovskia came long ago, when I regularly walked by a home near the ocean that had a velvety green lawn which met the sidewalk at a line of ethereal lavender-toned “clouds”. The moist and salty air, warming sunlight and orange sunrises and sunsets, and those gorgeous lavender clouds worked together to give a feeling of peace and a visual of something quite heavenly. This caused not only me but just about everyone to do a double-take.

Once I myself had a yard large enough to accommodate lots of plants, I purchased my own Russian Sage. Ethereal clouds of blooms and foliage, heavenly fragrance when brushed or crushed, strong perennial nature… all these things were associated with this plant. So, what could go wrong? Nothing, right? Well, not exactly. I will share here what went wrong for me, so that the same will not go wrong for you. Russian Sage is an easy-growing plant with great strength. But just as with most things, some mistakes can be made. When corrected, the mistakes result in lasting lessons, just right for sharing. So here is what I have to share:

Three Mistakes Affecting Russian Sage

Failing to ensure enough sunlight:  Perovskia, or Russian Sage, loves baking sun. I had good sunshine in many parts of my yard, but I chose a location for my plants in which sunlight was more dappled than direct. These plants that started out healthy and raring to go never developed much, always yearning for a sunbath (bright light and good heat) that my garden location could not provide. Allowing this was my first mistake.

Failing to ensure enough space:  I suffered from the problem of thinking “more is more”. When first gardening, I overcrowded plants. This was not a problem for some plants, for example, Sedums, which could enjoy the shade created by broad-leafed Hostas and then pop up to show their own nice foliage and blooms. But for Perovskia, overcrowding was a “no-no”. I added small Russian Sage plants to the edge of a garden bed that accommodated them well when they were immature. I envisioned them growing and finagling enough space to do well. I was wrong.

I quickly learned that it is vital to give Russian Sage plants plenty of room to grow. Even the sweetly compact Perovskia ‘Little Lace’ does not want to be crowded out by other plantings. If planting this perennial in a straight-line border, consider creating the border with nothing but Russian Sage. Space the plantings out nicely as you dig them into well-draining soil, and let them expand to their meant-to-be size. Do not let other plants block their light or crowd their foliage.

Being too kind:  To the extent that kindness means finding a location with rich soil and good moisture, there is indeed such as thing as being too kind to Russian Sage. It is not a plant that craves rich living and coddling. And that is, in fact, why it did so well in the location in which I first saw it. Being battered by wind and exposed to salt in the air, getting overheated and well-baked in sunshine at some points in the day, growing in lean soil… this is more Perovskia’s style.

Does that mean that to grow Russian Sage, you must relocate to a home near the ocean and call in a wind machine…? Well, the oceanview home might be nice. But no, that is not the take-away I aim to share. It is just that the best growers of Perovskia are the ones who know that less is more with this plant… less in terms of soil richness, water, and protection from the elements. (Now, one caveat: When plants are new and just getting established, regular watering is vital to having them build a strong root system, and limited fertilizing can be useful. But far less water is needed once the plants are established.)

One Other Note about Care

Keeping in mind the needs for warm, bright, and consistent sunlight, space to grow, and well-draining barebones soil treatment, is there anything left to consider when growing Russian Sage? Well, one thing is pruning. Pruning helps Russian Sage look great, year upon year, preventing it from developing thick and woody stems. 

Take any of the Perovskia plants, blooming later in summer when we really need something heavenly to admire, and enjoy the blooms right into fall. After the blooms fade, keep the bushy formations of thin stems standing all winter, adding shape to the area in which you have located these plants. Then, in late winter or earliest spring, trim all the sticks down close to the ground, to a height of about half the length of a ruler. Waiting to prune until late winter or early spring makes these plants tough and hardy; and the pruning itself makes them bushy, cloudlike, and full of blooms for the next season.

Summing Up

Mistakes as learning experiences? It’s true. Russian Sage as a heavenly plant? Absolutely.