Autumn sage
Salvia greggii · Lamiaceae
A small, twiggy, aromatic shrub from Texas and Mexico that flowers from spring to frost in red, pink, white or purple. Hummingbirds visit all day.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid May to mid October
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around autumn sage
The planner designed this bed around autumn sage when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why autumn sage stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Autumn sage × 1, red
- 2 Lemon thyme × 6, pink
- 3 Winter heath × 8, white
- 4 Wild quinine × 8, white
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Allium 'Gladiator' × 5, purple
- 7 Star of Persia × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only spires. The others are dense clusters, bells, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only red. The one hot colour: every other flower here is cool or neutral.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it is the step between winter heath (10 in) in front and wild quinine (3½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- One plant. Three or more is usual for a plant of this kind, and reads better.
- Fine leaf against bold. Wild quinine is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- In flower for 23 weeks. From mid May to mid October.
- Closes the season. For its last 8 weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as a cottage garden: 24 of the 24 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The flowering is at its height in late June, with 5 kinds out together. Allium 'Gladiator' and wild quinine anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 3 Good, 3 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where autumn sage goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Few plants flower for longer in heat and drought. Shear it lightly in midsummer to keep it compact, and give it sharp drainage for winter.
- Months of colour in hot, dry gardens
- Hummingbird gardens
- Low hedges in mild climates
What to plant with autumn sage
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Russian sage: in flower together for 10 weeks, from mid July; spires rising out of its mound; tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it.
- Blanket flower: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for 15 weeks; a low mound at the foot of its spires; happy in the same dry soil.
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its fine ones; a low mound at the foot of its spires.
Questions about autumn sage
Does autumn sage need sun or shade?
Autumn sage grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does autumn sage grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does autumn sage flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid May to mid October. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 6 | Early May to mid October |
|---|---|
| Zone 7 | Early May to mid October |
| Zone 8 | Late April to mid October |
| Zone 9 | Mid April to mid October |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should autumn sage be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many autumn sage plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is autumn sage poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat autumn sage?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after autumn sage?
Autumn sage is over by mid October. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Bodnant viburnum 'Dawn': from early November to late December, 10 ft tall.
- Common witch hazel: from mid October to late November, 15 ft tall.
What does autumn sage look like in winter?
Autumn sage holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
Is autumn sage good for bees and butterflies?
Autumn sage is visited by pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds and songbirds.
It is native to the United States.
More Salvia
- Anise sage 'Black and Blue' Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'
- Blue sage Salvia azurea
- Bog sage Salvia uliginosa
- Clary sage Salvia sclarea
- Culinary sage Salvia officinalis
- Meadow sage Salvia nemorosa
- Meadow sage 'Caradonna' Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna'
- Mexican bush sage Salvia leucantha
- Rosemary Salvia rosmarinus
- Russian sage Salvia yangii (formerly Perovskia)
- Russian sage 'Little Spire' Salvia yangii 'Little Spire'
- Salvia 'Hot Lips' Salvia microphylla 'Hot Lips'
- Salvia 'May Night' Salvia nemorosa 'Mainacht'
- Silver sage Salvia argentea
- Whorled sage 'Purple Rain' Salvia verticillata 'Purple Rain'
- Wood sage 'Blue Hill' Salvia x sylvestris 'Blauhügel'
- Wood sage 'East Friesland' Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Deer-resistant perennials for full sun
- Drought-tolerant perennials for full sun
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Native perennials for pollinators
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Plants with spires: vertical accents
- Long-flowering plants: 12 weeks or more
- Plants for a white garden
Zone guides: Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
In flower in: May · June · July · August · September · October
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid May to mid October; upright spires; red, pink, white, purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, semi-evergreen; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Comes from
- Texas & adjacent Mexico
- Attracts
- Pollinators, butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, salt
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.