Russian sage blooms from early summer through to frost and is well-utilized by bees
One of the top-performing plants in the Haven's bee attractiveness studies is Russian sage. Garden books describe this plant along the lines of "...even though it's called Russian sage, it's not a sage. That name is for plants in the genus Salvia...." To quote from the Sunset Western Garden Book, "This popular plant is neither a sage nor from Russia."
Russian sage is a nectar source for bees. Combine it with pollen sources like this coneflower for an attractive, bee-healthy combination.
Well, the plant taxonomists have been at it again. So Russian sage, previously known as Perovskia atriplicifolia, has been reclassified and is now Salvia yangii. Just when we learned to pronounce per-ROVE-ski-uh! And to shake things up even more, rosemary is also now a salvia. It's understood to be a close relative of Russian sage and has been reclassified as Salvia rosmarinus. The correct way to write these is new name (old name). So Russian sage is Salvia yangii (Perovskia atriplicifolia) and rosemary is Salvia rosmarinus (Rosmarinus officinalis).
Our understanding of Russian sage's native habitat remains unchanged. It's still not from Russia, but is native to grassland areas in western China, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. These hot, dry, sunny areas have summer weather similar to California's Central Valley so it does well in our gardens.
Honey bee on Russian sage flower. The fused lower petals are typical of the genus Salvia and create a bee landing pad.
A close view of a bee on its flower shows the characters that we often associate with the genus Salvia.
Here are links to some of the scientific papers describing these changes for those who wish to learn more:
Salvia yangii. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Link here.
Taxon. 2017. Salvia united: The greatest good for the greatest number. Read here.
American Journal of Botany. 2012. Phylogenetics, biogeography, and staminal evolution in the tribe Mentheae (Lamiaceae). Read here.
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Fantastic that you see such diversity of bees on this plant!
Ok, so how is yangii pronounced?
Glad you found this interesting. It's pronounced YANG-ee-eye. FYI, the Missouri Botanical Garden includes a recording of plant pronunciations on their online plant finder: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/plantfindersearch.aspx
The wasps enjoy the nectars of the Russian Sage nearby.
Should I cut off the flowers if the Russian Sage to get rid of the wasps?
Your advice would be greatly appreciated.
The wasps have likely chosen this location for their nest because it's a corner. They are nectaring on many other plants besides the Russian sage. There is great information about wasp control on the UC IPM website: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/legacy_assets/pdf/pestnotes/pnyellowjackets.pdf