A shrub-like plant with woody stems and silver-gray or light green foliage, the Texas Sage has a unique characteristic of producing flowers when humidity shoots up or after a hard rain. Here are some Texas Sage care tips.
| Botanical Name | Leucophyllum frutescens |
| Common Name | Texas Sage, Purple Sage, Barometer Bush |
| Plant Type | Perennial |
| Flower Color | Small yet striking purple flowers atop foliage |
| Size When Mature | 48 to 72 inches |
| Bloom Time | Year-round |
| Sun Requirements | Full sun |
| USDA Hardiness Zones | 8 to 11 |
| Soil PH Range | 6.5 to 8.5 |
| Soil Type | Well-drained, sandy or loamy |
| Water Needs | Medium |
| Native Area | Texas |
What you Need to Know About The Texas Sage
The Texas Sage, or Leucophyllum frutescens, is a durable evergreen shrub that doesn’t need much in order to do well in your home. Furthermore, it’s dependable and can be applied to several landscape uses, including as a screen, border, or hedge. The plant can even work as a standalone specimen and bring some much-needed color to a yard or garden.
Purple sage will usually flower with purple blooms after a rain or in high humidity, with green or silver gray leaves forming upright clumps. Give it full sun and time and the Texas Sage will constantly become a sight to behold in your outdoor space. Also, flowering can happen anytime during the growing season.
How to Care for The Texas Sage
Here’s everything you need to know about growing and caring for a thriving Leucophyllum frutescens.
Light
The Texas Sage grows best in places where the shrub can get full sun. Even before it’s established, the evergreen has a degree of drought tolerance and should be able to handle a missed watering or two in stride.
A partial sun location can also work for the rain sage, but you won’t see as much bloom or growth as one in full sunlight. In full shade, leucophyllum frutescens will reach toward the nearest light source and won’t look as nice.
The Cenizo plant can grow up to 6 feet in height (or 72 inches) when planted in the right environment. However, it’s fairly slow-growing and may take up to two years to mature and become fully established.
Water and Soil Needs
Beginner gardeners will find the Texas Sage to be an easy plant to grow when it comes to soil and watering needs. Virtually any kind of soil will do, but it has to be well-draining and allow water to pass through. However, you should aim for a loamy and organically-rich soil for the best growth.
Soil pH can range from slightly acidic to alkaline. It’s worth noting that pH will not affect bloom quality or color, so you can use a standard garden mix and amend with sand or aged compost.
While it’s true that the Texas Sage can withstand hot conditions and periods of drought, you should water your plant regularly, especially during the growing season. As a general rule, you should irrigate when the top soil is dry and on hot days.
Temperature Requirements
The Leucophyllum frutescens shrub can grow in USDA zones 8 through 11. The plant prefers a hot and humid environment and won’t mind standing under the heat of the afternoon sun. In colder environments, the purple sage can survive up to 10 degrees F (or minus 12 degrees C) before suffering frost damage.
Fertilizer
The best fertilizer to use on a Texas Sage is organic mulch or slow-release fertilizer products.
In the wild, this hardy shrub grows in places where most plants won’t, even in a poor medium. As such, there’s no real need to fertilize the Texas Sage each growing season. However, if you want to support its growth, then you should apply organic fertilizer such as fish emulsion or blood meal.
Organic mulch should be enough to give the Texas Ranger plant the nutrients it needs. Avoid using products that are high in nitrogen, such as NPK with 20-0-0, grass clippings, or manure.
Common Diseases
The Texas Sage doesn’t have any real pest or disease problems other than tolerance to cold environments. The evergreen shrub can suffer from root rot and diseases that come with overwatering or planting it in compact and waterlogged soil, and common insects such as aphids and spider mites.
To reduce Purple Sage problems you should observe proper watering habits and avoid the foliage and flowers. Right from the start, you should make sure that the soil is well-draining and won’t collect too much water. Also, reach for the watering can only when the top inch of the soil is dry to the touch.
As for maintenance you can spray organic neem oil or spritz the leaves with jets of water to dislodge spider mites and similar pests. However, you should only do this in summer and when the weather is hot. Regular pruning and removing debris such as dead leaves and branches can be done in spring to encourage a bushier specimen.
The Texas Sage Propagation
The evergreen shrub is easy to multiply via cuttings taken in the summer season.
It’s recommended that you take cuttings that are anywhere between four to six inches in length and stems that have 3-4 leaf nodes. Remove the lower leaves, then either put the cutting in a glass of water or a small pot with well-draining soil.
Remember to change the water every two to three days. When using a soil medium, keep the soil moist by spraying it with water daily. Then, place the cuttings in a brightly lit area and wait for around 3 to 4 weeks or so. Roots will come out of the lower stems if successful. From there, you can transplant it outside or in a bigger container and treat it as a new Texas Sage plant.
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