Is Russian Sage deer resistant?
Salvia yangii
About Russian Sage
Aromatic silver foliage that deer walk past even in bad years, and one of the few plants that looks better in poor dry ground than in good soil. Rich or damp soil is what kills it. Fed and watered, it grows tall, soft and floppy, then splits open in the middle after rain and never recovers its shape. Sharp drainage, full sun and no fertiliser is the whole requirement. Cut it hard in spring, down to about six inches, once you see buds breaking on the lower stems. Leaving the old growth up over winter is fine and looks good in frost, but pruning in autumn risks losing the plant. Note that botanists moved it out of Perovskia into Salvia, so newer labels read Salvia yangii.
Soil and care
- Soil pH
- 6 to 8
- Drainage
- Sharp, gritty. Will rot in wet soil
- Water
- Low
- Fertility
- Low
- Spacing
- 24 to 35 in apart
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Maintenance
- Low
Tolerances and uses
- Drought
- High
- Salt
- High
- Pollinators
- High
- Coastal sites
What to plant it with
- Lambs Ear
Both silver, both drought-hardy, both need the same sharp drainage.
Keep apart from
- Impatiens
Full sun and drought against wet shade. Nothing about these two overlaps.
Similar to Russian Sage
Other perennials with the same deer rating.
- Anise HyssopAgastache sp.Zones 4–9, genus rangeRarely damaged
- Basket of GoldAurinia saxatilisZones 3–7Rarely damaged
- Bearded IrisIris germanicaZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Bigleaf GoldenrayLigularia dentataZones 4–8Rarely damaged
- Bleeding HeartLamprocapnos spectabilisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
- Butter and EggsLinaria vulgarisZones 3–9Rarely damaged
Where Russian Sage grows
Hardy across most of these 50 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
- Wisconsin
- Ohio
- Indiana
- Illinois
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Georgia
- Texas
- Colorado
- California
- Oregon
- Washington
- New Hampshire
- Vermont
- Maine
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- West Virginia
- Kentucky
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Alabama
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- Arkansas
- Oklahoma
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- Iowa
- South Dakota
- Montana
- Wyoming
- Idaho
- Utah
- Nevada
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Alaska
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
Browse from here
Every list Russian Sage belongs to.
Hardy in these zones
Common questions about Russian Sage
- Is Russian Sage deer resistant?
- Russian Sage (Salvia yangii) is rated Rarely Damaged on the Rutgers NJAES four-tier scale. Deer almost always leave this alone.
- What hardiness zones does Russian Sage grow in?
- Russian Sage is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 9. Outside that range it will either not survive winter or will struggle with summer heat.
- Does Russian Sage grow in shade?
- No. Russian Sage wants full sun and will grow thin and flop in shade.
- How big does Russian Sage get?
- Mature height is roughly 24–48 in. Growth rate is fast.
- When does Russian Sage bloom?
- Russian Sage flowers from July–October.