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West Texas Grass Salvia

Salvia reptans

$7.19
$7.19 $8.99
per Plant - 5" Deep Pot
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ZONES  5-10 | Good to grow! Zone
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West Texas Grass Sage is an amazing plant originally collected from the mountains of West TX. Blooming in early fall with hundreds of cobalt blue flowers, this xeric species is very cold hardy and a hummingbird favorite. Drought resistant/drought tolerant plant (xeric).

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Description

36-48" tall x 15-18" wide (seed/cutting propagated). An amazing native sage originally collected in the Davis Mountains of west Texas by plantsman Pat McNeal. The stiff stems have fine-textured foliage that gives the plant a wonderful grassy appearance. But come late summer, the numerous cobalt blue flowers remind you that it is a very special flowering sage. The foliage is pungently scented and resists browsing animals. Nice with Zauschneria arizonica.

Planting & Care

Tips For Growing Salvia

Salvia (commonly referred to as ‘Sage’) represent a huge family of ornamental plants that attract a variety of pollinators to their nectar rich flowers. They are resistant to deer and rabbits.

  1. Plant in full sun.
  2. Plant native Western Salvia varieties in soil that is low fertility and well-drained.
  3. Plant Old World Salvia in a wide range of soils (loams, sand) including clay.
  4. Many spring-flowering varieties of sage will re-bloom in fall if deadheaded after the first bloom.
  5. New transplants need regular irrigation their first growing season to establish themselves. Once established they will need regular, deep irrigation during hot, dry weather.
  6. During fall garden clean-up, wait to cut back the plants until spring for improved cold hardiness.
  7. In colder USDA zones (zone 6 and below) it is essential to give Native Southwestern and Southwestern hybrids protection from the extreme cold their first couple winters in the garden. Mound up pine needles or fallen autumn leaves over and around the base of the plant.

Western Native Salvia: : It is from the Western US that we find our most beautiful native salvia species. For attracting hummingbirds, there are no finer flowers than the Western native sages. Typically, this group of Salvia prefer ‘lean’ (not very fertile), well drained soils. They will grow in dry clay conditions in arid climates but will rot out in clay soils where there is more than about 15 to 18” of precipitation annually.

Western Salvia include:

  • Salvia greggii - ‘Furman’s Red’, ‘Cold Hardy Pink’
  • Salvia hybrids - ‘Maraschino’, ‘Raspberry Delight’, ‘Ultra Violet’ and ‘Burgundy Seduction’.
  • Salvia pachyphylla and Salvia dorrii is recommended for arid western gardens.
  • Salvia azurea and Salvia reptans - Early fall bloomers with excellent cold hardiness.

To get established in USDA zones 5 & 6, Western Salvia (noted above) must be planted in spring or early summer, not in the fall. Protect your new plants over their first winter or two in your garden. Cover each plant with a generous pile of clean straw or pine needles. This allows the plant's crown (junction of root and branches) to mature and obtain maximum cold hardiness.

Old Wolrd Salvia: The Old World Salvia include some of the very best, most durable, longest-lived perennials. These salvia are an excellent choice for gardeners across most of the United States. ‘Old World’ Sages bloom primarily in shades of blue, pink and white. They are well adapted to cold climates and a wide range of soils including clay. The European Salvia are incredibly attractive to honey bees, many of our native bees and bumble bees as well as butterflies.

Old World varieties include:

  • Salvia syslvestris'Lyrical Rose', 'May Night', 'Little Night', 'Caradonna' and 'Marcus'.
  • Salvia daghestanica
  • Salvia verticiliata

More in-depth guidance for growing Salvia:Planting Nectar Rich Salvia to Attract Pollinators to the Garden

Shipping

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As soon as your order is placed you will receive a confirmation email. You will receive a second email the day your order ships telling you how it has been sent. Some perennials are shipped as potted plants, some as perennial roots packed in peat.  The ‘Plant Information’ section describes how that item will ship. All perennials and fall-planted bulbs are packaged to withstand shipping and are fully-guaranteed. Please open upon receipt and follow the instructions included.

Perennials and fall-planted bulbs are shipped at the proper planting time for your Growing Zone. Perennial and fall-planted bulb orders will arrive separately from seeds. If your order requires more than one shipment and all items are shipping to the same address, there is no additional shipping charge. See our shipping information page for approximate ship dates and more detailed information. If you have any questions, please call Customer Service at (801) 769-0300 or contact us by email or chat.

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Key Features

Light Requirements

  • Morning Sun & Afternoon Shade
  • Full Sun

Water Tolerance

Low-Water

Bloom Time

Late summer to fall

Advantages

  • Bee Friendly
  • Attracts Butterflies
  • Attracts Hummingbirds
  • Native
  • Low Maintenance
  • Fragrant
  • Deer Resistant
  • Rabbit Resistant

Additional information

Mature Height

36-48" tall

Mature Spread

15-18" wide

Soil Type

  • Average Soil
  • Sandy Soil
  • Clay Soil

Soil Moisture

  • Waterwise

Planting Time

  • Fall

Native To

North America

Growing Zones

  • Zone 5
  • Zone 6
  • Zone 7
  • Zone 8
  • Zone 9
  • Zone 10

Ships As

Potted Plant

Can Send To PO Box

No

Ships to Hawaii & Alaska

No

Overall rating: 4.2727275 / 5 from 11 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["plant","blooms","blue","climate"].

Review highlights

Reviews

Skinny but tall. Plants arrived

"Skinny but tall. Plants arrived healthy, and in good shape. Planted right away."

— Carole L. (5/5)

Heavy late bloomer and reseeds readily

"Bought 1 plant a couple years ago and now have over 20 plants - in pots, in rocky areas - with or without added water in our extremely hot and dry southern UT climate. Right now I have tons of floating beautiful blue flowers and the bees and skipper butterflies are loving it!"

— Jvelo (4/5)

Beautiful and hardy plant. . .

"I planted two of these 17 years ago. One remains. It just got crowded out. You have to make sure they don't get crowded out by other plants. They are otherwise hardy, even though they look fragile. Make sure you leave them until spring to cut back. I planted this in a southeast garden under a tree which has grown a lot. So it gets enough sun, but some afternoon shade as well."

— Shegardensxo (4/5)

Planning on buying more

"I planted this last fall. Over the spring and early summer I was a little doubtful. Over the past 2-3 months this plant has bloomed and bloomed. It looks quite like a cloud of little blue flowers in my yard. Absolutely beautiful. Everyone who comes by comments on it. The bees also love it."

— Anna (4/5)

Bumblebee happiness

"Just when my Albuquerque garden falls into the August doldrums, this salvia begins to bloom and all is well again. Mine grow to about five or six feet in amended clay and have been coming back reliably for about four years. Because they're so wispy, they're pretty much invisible until they begin to bloom. I have them with goldenrod and some asters. I don't have problems with flopping. The color is similar to salvia uligonosa, but these are much more refined. They add elegance to my very unrefined plot. The bumblebees and carpenter bees love them, but the honeybees could care less."

— Hardpan H. (5/5)

nice plant to fill a role

"Got a few of these this spring for my hummingbird garden. I was pretty down on them since they bloomed very late, late Sept here in Portland, OR area. But they look pretty good now that they are in bloom. And I would expect the will bloom earlier once established, although I would guess they will always be somewhat of a late bloomer. But in part of my hummingbird garden I have planted Zauschnerias, which are also a late bloomer. It dawned on me that putting some of these mixed in with the zausches should be a very attractive look. So far I mostly have the UC Hybrid Zausch, which is an orange flower. The blue of these should look great based on the ""complementary color"" concept. I have also planted some new Zausches of the pink flowering variety, these should go just fine with the blue salvia flowers also. In addition, Zausches and these have fairly low watering requirements so they should be quite compatible in that respect also, since it makes watering easier if all the plants in a particular part of your yard have similar water requirements."

— Lsjogren (5/5)

Love this plant. . . The bees love it and I did buy it again.

"I planted these in the area in the driveway area. Very hardy plant in North Texas area and attracts pollinators."

— Ladycarolyn (5/5)

a good surprise

"I always wonder when I order something that isn't labeled for the midwestern garden. Will this work? Will it live? Well, I was very happy when my salvia burst into the most beautiful blue that lasted for several weeks. The only recommendation I would have is to plant it in back of something that could prop it up a bit as it tends to bend over."

— Djdcary (4/5)

Love this plant!

"This plant appears delicate but it is very hardy. It survives Kansas winters and hot summers. I purchased one just to see how it would do. It probably took about two years to fully mature but much to my surprise it was sprouting up new plants close by and a few feet away. So I dig them up and move them and they do really well being transplanted. I would recommend that you water it to get it established when you first plant it. I only water it when it looks a little wilted and with very little water it bounces right back. I planted the original one facing Southwest and I did place a small trellis behind it. I tell everyone about this plant, just love it's delicate flowers and feathery leaves. It does bloom late summer early fall."

— GardenGirl636 (5/5)

very tall

"These took a very long time to bloom, and in the meantime, the green stalk/leaf part grew very tall. They finally bloomed in the fall, and were lovely little blue blooms. Maybe as part of a cottage garden that needs blue accents and tall plants."

— Marlaf (3/5)

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