 - Crocus)
Excellent
5
Fabulous Grew from seed. Take a year to get reasonable sized plants. Very happy
PeterTN37
St Leonard's on Sea
Perovskia 'Blue Spire'
Russian sage ( syn. Salvia Blue Spire )
6 × 9cm pots
£47.94
£29.99
Unavailable
9cm pot
available to order from late summer
This perennial dies back to below ground level each year in autumn, then fresh new growth appears again in spring.
- Position: full sun
- Soil: well-drained, poor to moderately fertile
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: August to September
- Hardiness: fully hardy
With its aromatic leaves and upright spikes of violet-blue flowers, Russian sage makes a wonderful companion to all kinds of late-summer ornamental grasses and perennials. Identified by the RHS as a plant which is 'Perfect for Pollinators', Russian sage will help attract and support bees and other pollinating and beneficial insects. It has also been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit for its garden worthiness.
In August and September, tiny, violet-blue, tubular flowers appear on silver-grey spikes above the main framework of the plant, among deeply-cut and lobed, grey-green leaves. This deciduous sub-shrub makes a real impact planted en masse alongside a path, where the sage-like fragrance of its leaves can be appreciated, or try it alongside other silver-leaved plants, or in swathes in a sunny border. One of our recommended plants, it copes well with dry, chalky soil and salt-laden air. - Garden care: As this shrub has a tendency to flop a little, in March cut back to the permanent framework of the shrub to promote bushier growth. After pruning apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure around the base of the plant.
Goes well with
Gorgeous
4
Reasonable size when delivered and in good condition. Grew on fabulously and long flowering.
Wonky
Wales
Lovely
5
Added these to my west facing front border under white roses and was really happy with the result. Spent the first 6 months wondering if they were doing okay as they don't flower until late in summer. Then suddenly they added this tall beautiful sprays and still look elegant now in autumn.
Rose
Yorkshire
Great plant.
4
Slow to begin growing but suddenly surprised me with their height and pretty flowers in August and September.
Caza
St Albans
Sadly, none of these survived the winter.
2
I was really pleased when these plants arrived and they looked as if they were going to be fine, but all have vanished over the winter.
jw
Brighton
Beautiful plant.
5
I love this plant I first saw it in France where it is extremely common on roundabouts and sides of roads and loved it. I came home and googled it until I found out what it was and we now have 3 in the garden. Beautiful colour.
Badger
South east
Stunning.
5
A absolutely beautiful plant which fits into any garden; Formal, cottage or meadow. Looks particularly wonderful combined with Lavander or Achillea Credo/Terracotta...Or against a brick wall in plenty of sun. Superb for bees & has a decent flowering season; July - mid September. Have also grown successfully in a partial sady, east facing site.
DavidG
Essex
Attractive addition to my garden
5
Perovskia 'Blue Spire' is a nice addition to my small garden of perennial flowers. Think it would also look nice in an arrangement of cut flowers
Gardengirl
King's Lynn
Plants well-packaged when received & of good quality
5
Planted Perovskia in large pot to start them off then into garden early summer - all grew well! Am delighted with one of my favourite plants - so hope they survive this prolonged bout of snow
Gardeners friend
Warlingham Surrey
Fantastic, long-flowering plant
5
This is a fantastic plant! I've got a couple together in the poorest soil imaginable. A hot, dusty border, full-sun and chalky soil and they are flourishing. This is the third year for them and each year they've been great. Beautiful colour flowers, attractive leaves and give height to the border. I should have put in plant supports as they grew (prune back hard in spring) as once they've got the flowers, the stems do flop. But hard to sort that now they're attracting so many bees! Thoroughly recommend this plant - and I get flowers throughout July and all the way through well into autumn.
Wellington35
London
2000012649
4.5
14
85.7
- I bought 3 of these from you earlier this year & am about to plant them out, but I'm not sure how to position them as I don't remember how big they grow
-
Jax
-
Hello, These plants have an eventual height of around 1.2m and spread of 1m.
Helen
- Hi, I have a 'Blue Spire' plant that is in need of help! It has 3 branches, each is bare for about 6 inches from the soil up, after that it's bushy, leafy and covered in flowers. Sadly, it looks ridiculous because of the naked bottom (so to speak). Is there anything I can do to encourage new branches from the base or is it a lost cause?
-
CB
-
Hello, Perovskias do have the tendency to become leggy, so we recommend giving the a hard prune, each year in mid-spring, just as the new growth is starting to emerge. If you have not done this previously, then you should cut back all the stems to approximately 5 - 10cm above ground level. In subsequent years, you can then cut the stems back again to within 3 or 4 buds from the old wood.
helen
- Any reason why myplants are not flowering? Hello. I have some plants that seem to be happy and growing well but aren't flowering- two Fuchsias, a Crambe cordiflora, and a Geranium 'Buxton's blue'. Even those that are flowering are a bit rubbish - a Perovskia 'Blue Spire' and some Verbena bonariensis have produced some flowers but not many. What can I do to improve flowering - is there a particular feed or fertiliser I should use? The soil is dense london clay, but the garden is not shady, but nor is it in full sun. It is quite sheltered. Many thanks, Robert
-
Robert Wilne
-
Hello There, There are a number of reasons why plants don't flower including too much shade, not enough water or nutrients, or pruning at the wrong time of the year. It can also be caused by the plant putting on new root growth instead of focusing its energies on producing flowers. I am not really sure why yours has not produced buds, but you can often give them a bit of a push by feeding with a high potash fertiliser. I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor
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