MEALYCUP SAGE IS A GREAT WILDLIFE PLANT FOR CONTAINERS AND TRADITIONAL GARDENS
backyardwildlifeconnection by Terry W.Johnson
One of the many traits I like about gardeners is their willingness to share information with others. A good example of that is this past week during a conversation with Jean O’Shields (she and Terry Waith coordinate the Community Wildlife Project for the Garden Club of Georgia). During our call, Jean told me about a plant that was still blooming in her Ft. Valley garden long after a recent freeze killed many of her flowering plants. The plant is mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea). She was impressed with the plant’s hardiness, beauty, as well as the fact that it attracts loads of pollinators long after most plants were dead or not producing pollen or nectar.
I must admit that I had never heard of the mealycup sage. After doing a little research on the mealycup sage, I now wish that I had made an acquaintance with it years ago.
Don’t be put off by the plant’s unattractive name. Its name stems from the fact that the plant bears cup-shaped flowers covered with a dust-like substance.
While mealycup sage is not a Georgia native, it is a native of North America. Its range includes parts of Mexico, Texas and nearby states. Horticulturalists have developed several cultivars that enable gardeners to choose plants that display flowers ranging from white, blue, dark purple, to two-tone blue and white blossoms.
The plant blooms from late spring until fall. Georgia gardeners will be pleased to know the plant is rabbit and deer resistant. It also tolerates drought, is low maintenance, will grow in a broad range of soil conditions ranging from well-drained soils ranging from alkaline to acidic. It will even grow is clay soil types. The plant will grow in full sun to partial shade.
Mealycup sage is an ideal addition to traditional gardens, borders, xeriscapes as well as containers. If planted in containers, they do best in three-gallon or larger containers.
Since the plant will attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, it is an ideal candidate for inclusion in wildlife-friendly container gardens. Here it can be combined with other plants such as coneflowers and zinnias that are also attractive to wildlife.
If you create a container garden for wildlife and would like to earn certification in the Community Wildlife Project’s Container Gardening for Wildlife Category, download an application found on the Garden Club of Georgia’s website (gardenclubofgeorgia.org). When you visit the website, look at all of the other ways in which you can create a beautiful, wildlife friendly, backyard.
The Community Wildlife Project is a conservation initiative sponsored by The Garden Club of Georgia, The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and The Environmental Resources Network (TERN).
