Dwarf Russian sages

* Common name: Dwarf Russian sages

* Botanical name: Salvia yangii

* What it is: Russian sage is an excellent, heat- and drought-tough, deer-resistant, long-blooming perennial with silvery-gray leaves and purple flower spikes. Its main shortcoming is that it’s not short – growing to a gangly 4-foot floppiness. Breeders have introduced several new dwarf forms of this bee- and butterfly-attracting plant that don’t flop (at least not as much). These include Peek-a-Blue, Lacey Blue, Little Lace, Blue Steel, CrazyBlue and ‘Rocketman.’

* Size: Most grow 24 to 30 inches tall with a 2-foot spread. Lacey Blue, Little Lace and CrazyBlue are the shortest at 15 to 18 inches.

* Where to use: Loves Mediterranean conditions – heat, sun, gravelly soil. Ideal in butterfly or perennial gardens but also around mailboxes, on sunny banks and along western or southern foundations. Avoid low-lying wet spots where Russian sages are prone to root-rotting.

* Care: Cut back to 2 or 3 inches at the end of each winter. No spraying needed. A spring scattering of a balanced organic or slow-acting fertilizer is usually plenty – if even that. No need to water except in a severe drought.

* Great partner: Interplants nicely with purple coneflowers, pink garden phlox, sedum and/or pink lilies. Pink shrub roses are a good shrub partner. And ornamental grasses make a nice backdrop.