Common Name: Jerusalem sage
Type: Broadleaf evergreen
Family: Lamiaceae
Native Range: Mediterranean
Zone: 8 to 10
Height: 2.00 to 4.00 feet
Spread: 3.00 to 5.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun to part shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Flower: Showy
Culture
Jerusalem sage is a shrubby evergreen in USDA Zones 8-10. Plants typically die to the ground in winter in USDA Zones 5, 6 and 7, with roots usually surviving. It is best grown in organically rich, fertile, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Plants tolerate some dry soils. Stems may be cut back after flowering to promote additional bloom.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Phlomis fruticosa, commonly called Jerusalem sage, is native to the Mediterranean. It is a pubescent, mounding, shrubby perennial that grows to 2-4’ tall. Plants perform best in USDA Zones 8-10 where they remain evergreen in winter. Wrinkled, ovate to lanceolate, gray-green leaves (to 5” long) of this mint family member have a sage-like appearance but no aroma or taste. Whorls of yellow flowers bloom in spherical clusters (verticillasters) along the upper half of stems and at the stem ends in summer. Additional flushes of bloom may occur throughout the remainder of the growing season if stems are promptly cut back after flowering.
Genus name comes from the Greek name phlomis for some plant possibly not of this genus.
Specific epithet means shrubby and short.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.