• Home
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
  • Blog
  • Prep-Ahead Meals Cookbooks
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Gardening
  • Kid’s Activities
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Budgeting Tips
↑

Premeditated Leftovers™

Prep-Ahead Meals, Cooking Tips, and Frugal Living

  • Cookbooks
    • Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches
    • Prep-Ahead Meals From Scratch
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area
    • Member Login
    • Join Us
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Gluten-Free Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Garden
  • DIY
  • Kids
  • Budget

You are here: Home / Gardening / My Favorite Drought Tolerant Plant: Russian Sage

My Favorite Drought Tolerant Plant: Russian Sage

July 30, 2010 by Alea Milham 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
204 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

July2010 240Russian Sage is hands down my favorite drought tolerant plant. Not only does it require little water and lots of sun, but it can handle the temperature extremes that exist in the high desert. No fertilizer for these plants; they thrive in poor soil, of which I have plenty! Its long spikes of purple flowers open in the heat of the summer, just as most of my other flowers are crying uncle, and continues blooming well into the fall.

Russian Sage dies back to the ground in the winter, but I do not trim the branches until the spring. Most sources I’ve read say that leaves will only bud on new shoots. However, I have observed that buds do appear on some of the old woody material, so I wait until the leaves start to emerge and then trim accordingly.

My plants reach about 3 feet wide and 4 feet high each summer. I use them through out my yard, but my favorite use of them was in creating a wall between my garden and my son’s play area:July2010 272 The wall of flowers serves several purposes. The blooms attract pollinators toJuly2010 229 my garden area, the strong sage scent hides the smells coming from the back pasture, and the thick branches prevent a lot of flying balls from crushing my veggies.

It is difficult to start Russian Sage from seed, but you can easily start a new plant from a cutting of new growth. You should keep it in moist soil until it takes off. Once it is established, you can cut back to watering it briefly 2 –3 times a week.

What more can I ask for? Oh yeah, it is not just rabbit resistant, it is almost a rabbit repellant, so I use it to protect flowers that the rabbits like to eat like my irises, daffodils, tulips, and  Liatris Spicata (pictured at right).

What is your favorite drought tolerant plant? Or are you one of those blessed people who actually receive measurable amounts of rain?

204 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Tootsie says

    August 1, 2010 at 7:12 pm

    I just bought my first one yesterday!!! how neat that you gave a post about it!

    Reply
  2. Suzy says

    July 31, 2010 at 2:39 am

    Its a beautiful plant especially in mass. I have a picture on my post today of what I think is russian sage or something like it.

    Reply
  3. Alison says

    July 31, 2010 at 2:19 am

    Love Russian sage, I've never grown it before. I started some from seed this winter via the winter sowing method. So far it's doing ok. We'll see how it does next year. Thanks for the tips about how to overwinter it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches by Alea Milham

Search

Prep-Ahead Meals from Scratch Where to Buy

Recent Articles:

use succession planting to grow more food

How to Use Succession Planting to Grow More Food

Want more bees in your garden? Here are Tips for Attracting Bees to Your Garden including planting early blooming bee-friendly plants near your garden.

Tips for Attracting Bees to Your Garden

how to use old coffee grounds in your garden

5 Ways to Use Coffee Grounds in the Garden

BROWSE:

  • Blog
  • Cookbooks
  • Recipe Index
  • Members Area

ABOUT:

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

Copyright ©2022, Premeditated Leftovers™. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs
204 shares