Sage Tricolor

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Armstrong Grown

Tricolor Sage has masses of beautiful racemes of fragrant lilac purple flowers with blue overtones rising above the foliage from early to mid summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive fragrant narrow leaves are grayish green in color with showy purple variegation and tinges of white. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous purple in the fall. The fruit is not ornamentally significant.

Mature Height: 18 inches (24 inches with the flowers)Mature Width: 18 inchesLight: Full Sun
 

Attracts,Pollinators, Butterflies, Birds
Brand,
Brand,
Botanical Name,
Bulb Size,
Bulbs per Package,
Deer Resistant,Yes
Evergreen or Deciduous,
Family,
Family Name,Sage
Flower Color,
Bloom Time,Early to Mid Summer
Foliage Color,Green
Genus,
Genus Name,Salvia
Model,
Tomato Class,
Tomato Type,
Weather,
Days to Emerge,
Days to Maturity,
Edible,Yes
Features,
Growth Rate,Medium
Hardiness,
Hardiness Zone,4a
Harvest Season,Late Spring to Early Fall
Landscape Uses,Massing, Edging, Garden, Naturalizing, Herb, Container
Light Needs,Full Sun
Mature Height,18 inches (24 inches with the flowers)
Mature Width,18 inches
Prune Time,Can Prune At Anytime
Self Pollinating,
Water Needs,Dry to Average
Waterwise,Waterwise

 
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Essentials for Success

For flourishing plants, use potting soil for potted plants or planting mix for garden beds paired with Root Zone starter fertilizer is the perfect duo to foster robust root growth and minimize transplant shock.

Details

Edible Qualities

Tricolor Sage is a perennial herb that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. The fragrant narrow grayish green leaves with showy purple variegation and tinges of white can be harvested at any time in the season. The leaves have a savory taste and a strong fragrance.

The leaves are most often used in the following ways:

  • Cooking
  • Drying
  • Seasoning
Features

Tricolor Sage has masses of beautiful racemes of fragrant lilac purple flowers with blue overtones rising above the foliage from early to mid summer, which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive fragrant narrow leaves are grayish green in color with showy purple variegation and tinges of white. As an added bonus, the foliage turns a gorgeous purple in the fall.

This is an herbaceous perennial herb with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition. This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and can be pruned at anytime. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Tricolor Sage is sutiable for the following landscape applications:

  • Mass Planting
  • Border Edging
  • General Garden Use
  • Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
  • Herb Gardens
  • Container Planting

Care

Planting & Growing

Tricolor Sage will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity extending to 24 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 18 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 15 inches apart. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 9 years.

This plant is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated herb garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Tricolor Sage is a good choice for the edible garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.