By Cindy Anderson,
Cedar Sage is a lovely small evergreen plant with furry round- or heart-shaped leaves with scalloped margins. Throwing up spikes of bright red flowers 1-2 feet tall, it blooms profusely for a couple of months in spring, then continues to bloom off and on all summer. Once established, Cedar Sage is very drought-tolerant and highly deer-resistant.
Cedar Sage (Salvia roemeriana) makes a fine plant for the well-drained shade garden. It was named for its native home where it can often be found in the wild growing in the dense shade of cedar trees (which are actually Ashe junipers.) It evolved to grow quite well in the fine leaf mulch deposited there. Its native habitat is indeed in the shade of cedar brakes and woodsy stands of oak trees and shaded, rocky, limestone areas, mainly here in the Edwards Plateau Ecoregion and into far West Texas and New Mexico.
However this plant also works well in containers or in rock gardens. It actually makes a fine plant for any area with dappled shade and good drainage. Overwatering, too much mulch, or poor drainage can cause crown rot. Remember that our native plants have learned to survive our droughts – and you will not do them any favors by “loving them to death.”
Reproduce the native environment for Cedar Sage. Full sun will stunt its growth; dappled shade beneath an oak or mountain laurel will provide the perfect amount of sun. If planted beneath a deciduous tree with large leaves, you must keep the fallen leaves cleared to help it naturalize and spread. And after blooming, the spent flower spikes should be cut off and the seeds scattered where you want more to grow. Trimming back regularly will keep this plant tidy and encourage denser growth.
Hummingbirds and butterflies love the red tubular flowers. And as with other red-flowered Salvias, its flowers are both edible and sweet and can make an attractive garnish.
Add a few Cedar Sage plants to your landscape this spring. This is a plant that you – and the hummingbirds and butterflies – will love.
WHERE TO FIND IT
Look for the “N.I.C.E. Plant of the Season” sign stake at these nurseries and growers in Fredericksburg, Medina, Kerrville, and
Comfort:
Friendly Natives, 1107 N. Llano Street, Fredericksburg, 830-997-6288
Medina Garden Nursery, 13417 Tx. Highway 16, Medina, 830-589-2771
Natives of Texas, 4256 Medina Highway, Kerrville, 830-896-2169
Plant Haus 2, 604 Jefferson Street, Kerrville, 830-792-4444
The Gardens at The Ridge, 13439 S. Ranch Road 783 (Harper Rd.), Kerrville, 830-896-0430
The Garden Haus, 109 FM 473, Comfort, 830-995-5610
From the Native Plant Society of Texas, Kerrville Chapter and Fredericksburg Chapter:
The Kerrville Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas hosts monthly programs at the Riverside Nature Center, 150
Francisco Lemos St., Kerrville, September through May. See npsot.org/chapters/kerrville for details.
The Fredericksburg Chapter of NPSOT meets monthly in Fredericksburg. See npsot.org/chapters/fredericksburg
for details.
Cindy Anderson is a member of the Native Plant Society of Texas (Kerrville Chapter) and the Hill Country Master Gardeners.
