Don’t get me wrong, part of the appeal of Russian sage is the gorgeous color of the stems and leaves. That silvery green looks as though it belongs to another world. But most of us who grow it want the lavender spikes studded with tiny flowers, too, and lots of them.
After all, that’s what sends out that clarion call to all the pollinators. So, it can be slightly maddening when your Russian sage is all silver and no purple.
Lucky for you and me, we can fix that pretty easily and get your shrub blooming again.
Bring On the Bees (and the Butterflies, Too)!
I fell in love with Russian sage a few years ago when I saw a large bank of it planted outside a restaurant.
Soaked in the afternoon sun, the plants were actually humming with the sound of so many bees. And there were quite a few butterflies, too. As a giant plant nerd, I brushed my hand along the flowers and was immediately rewarded with the heady scent of Russian sage – a mix of lavender, sage and mint.
I remember thinking, “Okay, whatever this pollinator magnet is, I need it in my garden.”
Back then, I was still living in my second-story apartment, so that meant growing Russian sage in a container (which is a little different than in the ground). That first summer, it was absolutely glorious! It thrived, and thanks to its presence, all of my flowers on the balcony were well-pollinated.
But the next year, it was pretty meh. The plant came back after a tough winter, but I had a lot fewer flower spikes. I remember thinking, “What happened?”
Here’s the thing about writing about gardening for a living. Sometimes you get so busy you forget to follow your own advice.
It didn’t take me long to realize I made a huge mistake (several, actually) when caring for my Russian sage.
Here’s what I did to fix the problem and get my beautiful Russian sage blooming again. Whether you’re growing yours in the ground or a container, if you follow these steps, you’ll have gorgeous purple-studded plants all summer long.
Never Forget Where You Come From
Start with the golden rule.
No, this isn’t a call for you to get back to your roots; rather, it’s become my personal golden rule when it comes to knowing how to grow any plant well. I swear by this bit of reverse engineering to figure out the best way to care for houseplants and perennials.
Tracey’s Gardening Golden Rule: Learn where your plant grows wild.
This has unlocked the secrets to growing so many plants that I struggled to grow in the past. Christmas cactus? Easy. African violets? Mine bloom non-stop. Tomatoes? Oh, honey, you wouldn’t believe the weird things tomatoes prefer after learning about their wild cousins.
Once you know how a plant grows in the wild, it’s easy enough to mimic that in our backyards or homes.
And for Russian sage, we’re going to head to…Southwest and Central Asia. (Yeah, I didn’t see that one coming either.)
It turns out that Russian sage is neither Russian nor sage.
Salvia yangii spans the rugged, arid lands of Southwest and Central Asia, including parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Palestine, Israel, Tibet, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, to name a few.
Like the people who live there, this plant has evolved to live in an area of extreme weather and extreme beauty.
Brutally hot summers, frigid winters and an untamed landscape have made Russian sage one heck of a survivor. Taking a closer look at Russian sage’s native lands will help us unlock clues as to how to get more blooms.
Arid to Semi-Arid Conditions
Much of this region receives little rain, typically less than 12 inches a year. Summers are hot and dry, with daytime temperatures reaching between 95-110F (35-43C). Winters can be frigid, well below freezing (especially in the higher altitudes of the steppes of Central Asia).
No rain means minimal cloud cover and relatively low humidity; this means you get intense, direct sun all day long. (Something cool to note: plants that grow in areas of intense sun have often evolved that silvery-gray color as a way to reflect sunlight, keeping the inside of the plant cooler. Neat, right?)
And finally, the soil. Most of the areas where you find Russian sage have alkaline soil that’s rocky and low in organic matter. (Think of how rotting leaves on the forest floor make for nice, loamy soil. Nope, none of that here.) This means water drains rapidly.
So, what does all this mean for our Russian sage?
It means we’ve got a tough plant that does best in a climate wildly different from where most of us live. But we’ve also just learned everything we need to do to get our Russian sage to start cranking out flowers.
1. More Sun, More Than That, A Bit More
You know the opening scene of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, where Uncle Vernan is pouring his sister, Marge, a glass of brandy, and she keeps saying, “A bit more, a bit more”?
Well, I can guarantee that’s what your Russian sage is saying when it comes to sun.
These things need absolutely relentless sun to create all the energy needed to bloom profusely. Yes, most care instructions on the plant label state something along the lines of 6-8 hours of full sun.
However, that’s the bare minimum.
Much like sunflowers, Russian sage is one of the few plants that can handle full, direct sun all day, every day.
Even small amounts of shade can lead to leggy plants with fewer blooms.
Take a look at where your Russian sage is planted. Is it somewhere that gets that full, baking sun all day long? It might be worth moving it to a sunnier location if you want it to thrive.
If you do have to move it, be forewarned; they don’t appreciate it. Pick your new location carefully and plan for it to be permanent.
Moving Russian sage
If you need to move Russian sage to a sunnier location, do it in the spring before it starts leafing out. Water it the day before so the roots are well-hydrated. Then, dig as wide and deep around it as you can. You want to get the full woody base and as much of the existing root system as possible to prevent severe shock.
Plant it immediately, and have your new site prepared and the hole ready to go. Do not let it sit around.
This gives the plant the entire season to settle back in, and you’ll likely get a second flush of flowers later in the summer since you’re sacrificing the first ones.
2. Slow Your Roll With that Trowel Full of Compost
A big part of spring perennial care is adding compost to the soil. After all, so many flowering perennials appreciate rich, loamy soil. Not our Russian sage, though.
Remember, they prefer rocky, well-drained soil with low fertility. (It’s part of what makes Russian sage such a great choice if you have less-than-ideal soil.)
So, skip the compost and the leaf mold. You’ll do more harm than good. And if the soil is already quite rich where you are, you’ll need to do some rather backwards amending. Adding sand or crushed gravel can be a big help with drainage.
This can be a bit tough if your plant is already established, But you can carefully remove some of the soil around the plant’s drip line and work in sand and gravel.
3. Are You Watering? Skip Your Russian Sage
If you’re making the rounds with your watering can, skip your Russian sage. Seriously, I know it’s tempting, but if you want blossoms, it needs to be dry.
Watering will give you lots of beautiful, lush foliage but fewer flowers.
Here’s a little secret that applies to most plants. When they’re happy and have abundant resources, they enter what I call “Go big or go home” mode. They start to sprawl. They push out lots of new foliage. They’re the conqueror hell-bent on expanding their empire.
But when those resources dry up (literally, in this case), the conqueror switches into legacy mode. Suddenly, your plant feels a little pressure to put all of its effort into ensuring the next generation’s survival. How? By making flowers, lots and lots of flowers. (Which are the reproductive organs of the plant, after all.)
This is a plant that thrives in dry conditions, and putting a little bit of stress on it by not watering it encourages it to bloom.
The only exception here is when your Russian sage is newly planted. Then, you’ll want to water it more frequently for the first few weeks until it becomes established.
Sometimes, Mother Nature ruins our best-laid plans. As I write this, we have had 4.5 inches of rain this month, and it’s only May 13th. So, it’s not ideal, but this is the risk we take, as gardeners, when growing plants that are used to vastly different climates than our own.
4. The Haircut of Death!
Remember how we put a little stress on our conqueror to make it switch into legacy mode? We’re going to do the same thing again, only by pruning our Russian sage.
In early spring, when your plant is starting to put out new growth, grab your hand pruners and cut it back to about 12-15 inches tall.
This sends a clear signal to the plant – someone is trying to murder us, dump all of your resources into growing hard and fast. You’ll get dense new growth with lots of flowering stems.
Don’t prune your Russian sage in the fall. (This is one of the mistakes I made with mine.) When you prune in the fall, you expose the crown to those cold winds, which results in more cold damage to the plant. Mine eventually bounced back (and made the move to my new place!) and recovered.
5. Nitrogen is a No-No
Spring is often the time we encourage you to give your perennials a little feed. The right amount of fertilizer can get them off to a great start at the beginning of the season.
However, if you recall from our geography lesson, the native regions for Russian sage generally have low-fertility soil. This means fewer nutrients. Russian sage is a scrappy plant that’s quite happy getting by without applications of fertilizer.
In fact, if you’re looking for flowers, adding fertilizer can have the opposite effect.
You’ll end up with lots of fast foliage growth that tends to be floppy. Instead of an abundance of blooms, you’ll have Russian sage that’s too weak to stand under its own weight.
While it’s tempting to give it a feed, rarely does Russian sage actually need it, especially where flowers are concerned.
6. Get a Little Help with the Right Cultivar
Knowing how a plant grows in its native home is hugely beneficial when it comes to giving it the right care. But you know what else helps? Selective breeding to create new cultivars that produce prolific blooms!
Our love of tinkering with plants has led to the development of some truly beautiful Russian sage cultivars. Here are a few that are best known for their abundant flowers.
‘Blue Spire’ – on the taller side, but lots of flowers
‘Little Spire’ – compact, tons of flower spikes, great for small gardens
‘Denim ’n Lace’ – newer variety, floriferous and compact (what I grow)
‘Peek-a-Blue’ – shorter, but a heavy bloomer
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