Phlomis russeliana
Phlomis russeliana or Turkish sage is a hairy perennial with large, ovate, rough-textured grey to mid-green leaves, with a woolly white coating beneath. Stout stems bear whorls of hooded soft yellow flowers 3cms in length from late spring to early autumn. Phlomis sp. are valued for their ability to thrive in poor, dry soils and in the wild, they tend to grow on open sites in dry, stony habitats. In gardens they do well in most soils as long as they are well drained.
It is a low maintenance plant and easy to care for. It does best in full sun and most aspects as long as not north facing. Fully hardy, it Is a slowly spreading clump formed through its rhizomes creating a weed supressing ground cover without being invasive. It has a full height of 1 -1.5 m and a spread of 0.5-1m.
In the Botanical Gardens you can see it in the Mixed Borders and the Four Seasons Garden behind the Pavilions. It makes a wonderful, dramatic statement with strong, statuesque stems, yellow flowers followed by the sculptural seedheads which remain attractive and ornamental throughout the winter. It is excellent as a cut flower and a valuable source of nectar for pollinating insects.
Phlomis russeliana will naturalise in the right conditions and is drought tolerant once it has established a good root structure. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit for its outstanding performance and reliability in the garden. In dynamic planting schemes it can be allowed to self-seed gently. Overall an excellent vertical flowering plant for dry sunny areas.
Phlomis russeliana is a member of the Lamiaceae native to Turkey (hence the common name). In Greek the name means 'flame' and it is said that the plant was historically used to make wicks for lamps. Unusually for the species it tolerates light shade (it inhabits open hazel woods in Turkey and Syria), enabling it to compete successfully in mixed perennial plantings. In total there are around 75 species in a varied genus that ranges from the Mediterranean through Central Asia into China.
Phlomis russeliana originally bore the name Phlomis lunariifolia var russeliana, a title bestowed upon it by the English botanist John Sims in 1825. Depending on the source the name either honours John Russell (1766-1839) the 6th Duke of Bedford (England), and a promoter of botany, gardening, forestry and agriculture who commissioned Humphry Repton in 1804 to produce landscape designs for Woburn Abbey. Or Sims chose the name as a tribute to the Scottish physician and naturalist Dr. Alexander Russell (1715-1768), renowned for his work ‘The Natural History of Aleppo’.
Either way this is a stunning perennial that is sure to add interest and beauty to any garden.
