Perennial · North Texas care guide
Salvia leucantha
Nursery Pro tip: The fall show: purple velvet spikes from September to frost.
The great fall perennial: three-foot arching wands of velvety purple-and-white flowers from September until frost, exactly when the rest of the garden is tired. Gray-green foliage all summer, hummingbirds and butterflies on it in October.
Full sun and drainage. Any soil, including poor clay if it isn't soggy. Space 3 ft apart — it gets wide.
Spring, so it has the whole season to build a root system before its fall show. Plant high in clay, native soil with shale, Root Stimulator, thin mulch off the crown.
Weekly the first summer, then every week or two. Too much water makes it flop before it blooms.
None to very light.
Leave the dead stems all winter to protect the crown, then cut to the ground in late February. If it sprawls in midsummer, shear it back by a third in June — it will be denser and still bloom on time in September.
Winter wet is the main killer. It leafs out late — often May. Flopping from shade or rich soil.
Fall bed with Gulf muhly, garden mums, lantana and Chinese pistache overhead. Purple against muhly's pink is the best October combination we know.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.