Phlomis russeliana

Phlomis russeliana: Stacked Yellow Whorls That Stand All Winter

Soft yellow flowers stacked in tiers up the stem like a wedding cake built by a bee. Underneath, big woolly leaves smother weeds like a bouncer on a slow night. NOTHING GETS PAST THE MAT.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Phlomis russeliana
• Common Name: Turkish Sage, Jerusalem Sage
• Height: 90 cm (3 ft) in flower
• Spread: 60 cm (2 ft)
• Flowers: Soft yellow, hooded flowers in round whorls, stacked in tiers up the stems
• Bloom Time: Early to late summer (June to August)
• Foliage: Large, heart-shaped, rough-textured grey-green leaves, woolly underneath, forming a dense, weed-smothering mat
• Features: Long-lasting seedheads for winter interest and dried arrangements, RHS Award of Garden Merit

Where to Plant: Use it in the middle of a sunny border, in gravel gardens and in naturalistic or prairie-style plantings, where the stacked seedheads give structure long after other plants have collapsed. The wide leaves make a handy groundcover between taller plants.

Companion Plants: Miscanthus sinensis 'Adagio' adds a fine-leaved grass at 120 to 150 cm, flowering from August to October after the sage. Echinacea 'Prairie Splendor' brings pink coneflowers at 45 to 60 cm from June to September. Amsonia 'Blue Ice' opens blue flowers in May and June, before the phlomis blooms. It's an easy, long-season planting for sun or part sun.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun, or part sun with some afternoon shade, in well-drained, average to fertile soil. It doesn't like sitting wet over winter, so improve heavy clay with grit or compost, or plant on a slope or raised bed. Water through its first season, then mainly during long dry spells. Leave the flower stems standing after bloom. They dry into sturdy seedheads that look great with snow on them. Cut everything back in early spring before new growth begins. Divide in spring if the clump gets crowded.

History: Turkish sage is native to open woodland and scrub in Turkey and Syria, and it's a member of the mint family. Its long season of structure has earned it the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Final Thoughts: Leave the seedheads standing and the snow will have something to sit on all winter. Deer pass by. ORDER THE CAKE, SKIP THE WEEDING.