Silver sage

Sun

Full sun; light afternoon shade can help in very hot climates.

Water

Water regularly while establishing, then sparingly. Allow the soil to dry between waterings; established plants tolerate drought.

Soil

Well-drained, gritty or sandy soil, preferably neutral to alkaline. Avoid heavy, wet soil and rich, moisture-retentive compost.

Height

1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m), including flower stems; foliage stays much lower

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Flowers

Late spring to summer; branching stems carry small white flowers, sometimes flushed pale pink.

Foliage

Large, rounded to oval, wrinkled leaves densely covered in soft, silver-white hairs; arranged in ground-level rosettes.

Growth

Moderate to fast; usually forms a substantial rosette in its first growing season.

Care needed

Medium

• Pollinators
• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Low allergen

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1 ft (0.3 m)

2. After 1 year

   1.4 ft (0.42 m)

3. After 2 years

   1.8 ft (0.55 m)

4. After 3 years

   2 ft (0.6 m)

   full size

About 2 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Growth rate

Fast

• Plant with the crown at soil level in a freely draining position.
• Water the soil rather than the woolly leaves, and let the surface dry before watering again.
• Avoid routine feeding; rich soil encourages soft growth.
• Use a thin gravel mulch around, but not over, the crown; keep damp organic mulch away.
• Keep replacement seedlings, as plants may decline after flowering or die during wet winters.

Pruning. Remove damaged or rotting outer leaves as needed without cutting into the central crown. Cut flower stems at their base before flowering if foliage is your priority; this may help prolong the plant's life, or leave some stems to produce seed.

Spring

Remove winter-damaged leaves and check that the crown is firm and free of rot.

Spring

Sow seed under cover or plant out young plants once the soil is workable and draining freely.

Late spring

Remove emerging flower stems if you want to concentrate on the foliage.

Summer

Water new plants during dry spells; water established plants only during prolonged drought.

Late summer

Collect seed from dry, brown flower heads if you have allowed plants to flower.

Autumn

Clear fallen leaves from the rosettes and improve drainage around any plants sitting in wet ground.

• Place at the front of a sunny border where the broad leaves contrast with fine grasses and narrow-leaved perennials.
• Repeat rosettes through a gravel garden for strong silver accents.
• Pair with purple, blue or deep pink flowers to sharpen their colour.
• Use in a sunny container with a gritty mix and generous drainage holes.

Garden styles it suits: Dry gravel garden, Mediterranean, Sensory garden, White garden, Cottage garden and Modern Mediterranean.

Plant it with: English lavender, Catmint, Yarrow, Sea holly, Bearded iris and Blue fescue.

Wildlife: Flowers provide nectar for bees and other pollinating insects. Removing all flower stems prevents this benefit.

• Crown and root rot in wet soil: improve drainage, keep mulch away from the crown and replace badly affected plants.
• Slugs and snails damaging young leaves: inspect in damp weather, remove hiding places and use wildlife-conscious slug control where needed.
• Woolly leaves becoming brown and matted: avoid overhead watering and gently remove dead outer leaves.
• Short lifespan or death after flowering: remove flower stems early if seed is not needed and raise replacement plants.

Not known to be toxic to people, cats, dogs or horses. No particular part is recognised as poisonous, but species-specific information is limited; this is an ornamental sage, not a substitute for culinary sage.

• Lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina)

  Has narrower, tongue-shaped leaves and spreads into mats; silver sage forms larger, broader-leaved rosettes.

• Clary sage (Salvia sclarea)

  Has greener, less densely woolly leaves and conspicuous pinkish-purple bracts around its flowers.

• Great mullein (Verbascum thapsus)

  Has more elongated, grey-green felted leaves and a tall, dense spike of yellow flowers rather than branched stems of white flowers.

The species name argentea means silvery, referring to the dense pale hairs covering the leaves.

Propagation. Grow from seed sown in spring or late summer in a free-draining seed mix. Cover lightly and keep moist, not wet; pot seedlings individually and avoid burying their crowns. It may self-seed where conditions suit.

Accepted botanical name

Salvia argentea

In the US and Canada

Introduced in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Albania, Algeria, Bulgaria, East Aegean Is., Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Sicilia, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey.

Measured

Average height 10 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.