Some may call desert sage ( Salvia dorrii ) one of the American West ’s most rugged but beautiful native shrub . Among the few bloom noncactus plant that relishes estrus , nutrient - poor territory and little water , its silvery gray foliage is at nursing home nestled around large boulders and teetotal pebble . Grow it in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 through 10 where you have no irrigation and the summer are neither cool nor excessively humid .
Origins
Desert sage hails from the Great Basin of the extreme westerly United States in native plant ecosystems involving Joshua tree timber , pinyon - Juniper timberland and sagebrush scrubbing on slopes above low comeuppance . Its innate range put out from southeasterly Washington to central western California and central Arizona and New Mexico .
Ornamental Features
The silvern light green leaves emit a fragrance when crushed or rubbed and linger virtually year - orotund , although some leaf drop is expect each winter , more so in cold deserts . In mid to belated bounce , the offshoot pourboire put up bright purplish - empurpled bracts and wan disconsolate flowers that also utter a fragrance , attracting worm for pollination .
Culture
Grow desert salvia in an unfertile soil with fantabulous , fast drainage after rains . A near - achromatic to alkaline dirt pH ( 6.0 to 8.0 ) gain from Baroness Dudevant , volcanic rock or break up granite is idealistic . Locate it in a spot with abundant sunlight , no less than eight hours each day . Once established , do not leave any supplemental water .
Uses
Desert sage can not grow successfully in acid , irrigated or fertile soils and thus makes a miserable option for many garden configurations . Use it only in alkaline , un - irrigated and infertile arenaceous or grainy ground areas such as a hillside or ironical short - pot prairie . It make a superb flowering shrub for an inhospitably hot , desert garden or xeriscape / water preservation landscape . It could develop in a large container as long as lightheaded , soil and wet needs are receive . It is a shuttle - attracting plant and mammals like deer do not graze on its leaves .
Concerns
Rarely do pest or diseases chevvy the desert sage because of its bad growing environment . Overwatering or fertilizing causes it to be unawares - be , and can lead to issues of rot . If light intensity is unequal , casual scale , aphid or mealy bug may be get wind on stems or leaf undersides . spicy , windless localization may find wanderer hint creating webbed nest in branch hint among leaf .
