Is Autumn Sage deer resistant?
Salvia greggii
Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
Not listed by Rutgers NJAES. Rated deer-resistant by El Paso County CSU Extension, whose list is a single category, mapped conservatively to Seldom Severely Damaged.
About Autumn Sage
Flowering runs from March into November on a soft, mounding shrub with small, mintily aromatic leaves. Deer pass it on their way to something else. The mistake is treating it as evergreen. In warm gardens the foliage does hold through winter, but where winters are genuinely cold it drops its leaves and stands about looking like a dead twiggy skeleton well into spring, and a great many plants are dug out in April by people who had already written them off. Wait for it. What it will not take is ground that holds water: it comes off well-drained rocky soil, usually limestone, and wants the same from you. Pinching is the whole routine — trim the tips continuously and it keeps setting flower. One harder cut in early spring, back by a third to a half, gives thicker foliage on a shorter plant. Whether it flowers hardest in spring or in autumn depends on where your particular plant came from.
Tolerances and uses
- Evergreen
Similar to Autumn Sage
Other shrubs with the same deer rating.
- Antelope BitterbrushPurshia tridentataSeldom damaged
- Anthony Waterer SpireaSpiraea x bumaldaZones 3–8Seldom damaged
- Apache PlumeFallugia paradoxaZones 6–10Seldom damaged
- Armstrong JuniperJuniperus chinensis 'Armstrongii'Zones 4–9Seldom damaged
- Autumn OliveElaeagnus umbellataZones 4–9Seldom damaged
- Banana YuccaYucca baccataSeldom damaged
Where Autumn Sage grows
Hardy across most of these 46 states on zone range alone. Mountain and coastal areas sit outside the ranges used here, so check your own zone before ordering.
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- New York
- Connecticut
- Massachusetts
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texasnative
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Highlighted states are within its native range according to the USDA PLANTS database, where it is native to 1 US state in total.
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Every list Autumn Sage belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Autumn Sage
- Is Autumn Sage deer resistant?
- Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) is rated Seldom Severely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Light browsing at worst; rarely ruined.
- What hardiness zones does Autumn Sage grow in?
- Autumn Sage is hardy in USDA zones 6 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Autumn Sage grow in shade?
- No. Autumn Sage wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Autumn Sage get?
- Mature height is roughly 24–36 in. Growth rate is moderate.