Foliage Follow Up -- Silver Sage, Salvia Argentea

Pam over at http://www.penick.net/digging/?p=11020 hosts Foliage Follow Up on the heels of Carol's GBBD over at http://maydreamsgardens.blogspot.com/ .

Today I am featuring yet another rescued plant from the shelves at Lowe's. Silver Sage, Salvia Argentea purchased for a whopping dollar a piece, I brought home the last four they had in November.

It is most enjoyed for it's downy-silver rosettes and the fact that it is not fussy about soil. It does prefer the soil to be well drained and located in full sun. 1/2 inch to 1 inch of water per week once established is all it requires. If planted in part shade it will not have the beautiful silver color and will become more green.
It is seldom sold as a potted plant, score!
It can grow up to 4ft. tall and equally as wide.
Propagating: In it's second year most Silver Sage produce off-shoots, little exact replicas of the parent plant. Dig up and re plant. It also flowers in the second year, similar to salvia with flower stalks white, pale pink or yellowish. If flowers are allowed to fade and the seed ripens most Silver Sage will die believing it's life cycle is over. Cutting off the flower stalk before the flowers open will extend the life of the Silver Sage. Another choice would be to let the seeds ripen and fall where they may for self-sowing...or collect the seed and sow where you would like them.

Cold Hardiness: 0 to -10F I have been most impressed with the size of the leaves. Already 6 inches long and quite a bit wider.

Prune off damaged leaves or if they are not growing in the direction you prefer. Not pictured, on one of mine the leaves are twisting a bit...I'm just watching to see what it does.

NON-EDIBLE

Hopefully I will have seed to share at the end of the season and maybe even some off-shoots.

Do you know my Silver Sage?

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Today I am Thankful for the challenge of encouraging rescued plants to keep growing!