Prime Time is an upright Russian sage with dense flower spikes that open earlier than many others, starting in midsummer. Blue flowers sit in dusky purple calyxes, and the calyxes hold their color well into fall after the flowers are done.
Slightly dissected oval leaves give the plant a fuller look than the typical airy Russian sage. At 30 to 36 inches tall, it fits the middle to back of a sunny border. It is drought tolerant, deer resistant and very cold hardy.
What it looks like
Dense, upright spikes are packed with tiny, tubular blue flowers, each set in a smoky purple calyx, on sturdy grayish stems. The leaves are oval, slightly dissected and gray-green, filling the stems for a solid look. The plant forms a full, upright subshrub about 30 to 36 inches tall and 24 to 30 inches wide. At peak bloom it is a thick column of blue and smoky purple spikes.
Growing it with lavender
Russian sage and lavender want the same hot sun and lean, sharp-draining soil, and its blue and smoky purple spires take over in late summer after the main lavender bloom, carrying the silvery, fragrant look into fall.
Care
Plant in full sun in lean to average, well-drained soil; it thrives in heat and drought and dislikes wet feet. Hardy in zones 4-9. Leave the stems standing over winter, then in spring, once new buds show, cut back to just above the lowest set of new growth; it is slow to leaf out, so be patient.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Salvia yangii
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Flower color: Blue in dusky purple calyxes
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Foliage: Gray-green
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Growth habit: Full, upright subshrub
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Mature size: 30–36 in tall × 24–30 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 4–9
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Light: full sun
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Bloom start: Mid-July
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Peak bloom: Mid-August
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Bloom pattern: Long Blooming
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Great
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.