What to Plant With Russian Sage: 9 Recommended Pairings

Russian sage is a sun-loving, adaptable perennial plant that shines in the summer. Its silvery leaves contrast with foliage in greens and purples and have a fine, feathery texture. Sprays of whorling tubular blooms in blue-purple appear in summer and go through frost in an extended show of color.

In addition to the airy display is a hardy constitution. Russian sage thrives in hot, dry conditions, blooms reliably, and performs across climates. With all of its merits, it’s no wonder Salvia yangii received the Perennial Plant Association’s Perennial Plant of the Year. 

Ornamental and functional in drought-tolerant, pollinator-attracting landscapes, Russian sage pairs beautifully with other specimens that mirror its growing conditions. It cools down a bright color scheme and complements pastel shades. It’s a natural fit for tucking in among the perennial border, where it brings a pop of light and where other plants help keep its long stems supported, tidy, and dense.

Colorado Blend Yarrow

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Black-Eyed Susan

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Alan’s Pride Echinacea

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About Russian Sage

Salvia yangii is hardy in USDA zones 5-9, where it weathers cold winters and hot summers. Depending on the variety, Russian sage reaches two to four feet tall, with fuzzy bloom sprays lining leafy stems. The textural, aromatic foliage is unappetizing to deer and resists many pests.

The rugged perennial grows best in full sun. While it withstands drought, the best flowering comes with regular moisture and drying slightly between sessions. To minimize prolonged damp conditions, ensure well-draining soils and plenty of air circulation through proper spacing.

In areas with high humidity or lots of rain, look for disease-resistant varieties like ‘Denim in Lace’ and ‘Crazy Blue.’ ‘Blue Spires’ is a compact, densely blooming variety with Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit status.

Coneflower

	botanical name Echinacea purpurea
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2-5’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Russian sage adds a spray of silver and deep purple to the perennial bed, while coneflower contrasts in form and color with purple blooms with orange centers (depending on the cultivar). With drought tolerance and a balanced blend of textural contrast and colorful variety, the composition rounds out specimens with similar cultural requirements and multiseason appeal.

Prized for its prolific flowering and durability, Echinacea thrives with a bit of neglect. The North American prairie native adapts to a variety of soils, as long as they’re well-draining. Like russian sage, coneflower flourishes in the summer heat with continual color.

Coneflower grows across climates and brings interest in its flowers and seedheads. The long-lasting bloom season provides nectar for beneficial insects, and seeds provide songbird forage and extended winter interest. Deadheading isn’t necessary, but it promotes faster flowering. Stop deadheading in late summer to make way for those beneficial seeds (and to expand next year’s colony).

Rudbeckia

	botanical name Rudbeckia hirta
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1.5-4’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Black-eyed Susan boasts abundant golden ray flowers with chocolate button centers in a wave of easy color through fall. Their seedheads bring lasting seasonal interest post-bloom and provide food for wildlife in winter.

The native North American wildflowers occur naturally in plains, meadows, and prairies. They thrive in various conditions, including heat, humidity, and drought. Cultivars like ‘Irish Eyes’ brighten the border or cutting garden with sunny yellow flowers and pale lime centers.

Planting Rudbeckia with Russian sage couples bold, bright tones with the cool blues of the Salvia for a complementary (opposites on the color wheel) scheme. Throw in cosmos, annual native wildflowers, for an effortless blend of pleasing textures and shades.

Joe Pye Weed

	botanical name Eutrochium purpureum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 5-7’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Plant Joe Pye weed with Russian sage for an unfussy, naturalized border. The native rises tall on leafy stems with landing-pad flower clusters with interest into fall. The domed, pinkish-purple clusters attract beneficial insects, and the towering stems hold coarse, long leaves in deep olive green with purple leaf nodes. Dark seed pods persist into winter.

If you don’t have room for the straight species, dwarf cultivars fit easily across garden scales. ‘Little Joe’ and ‘Baby Joe’ reach two to four feet tall with dense stems and blooms for a natural but more contained habit.

Joe Pye grows in different soil conditions, including clay, but does best in rich, moist, well-drained situations. Leave both Joe Pye weed and Russian sage standing through winter, rather than cutting them back in the fall. Joe Pye has hollow, pithy stems and dried leaves that create nesting cavities for native bees and others. Let stems remain in place to insulate the crown of Russian sage through freezing conditions.

Switchgrass

	botanical name Panicum virgatum
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3-7’
	hardiness zones 5-9

Switchgrass is an ideal pairing for a contrast in texture, form, and color. Fine blades are dense and upright, particularly with a structural variety like ‘Northwind.” With one like ‘Cheyenne Sky,’ wine-red blades add richness among Russian sage’s silver tones. Both bring graceful movement and texture. Interplant with lower-growing specimens like catmint and yarrow to keep tall Salvia yangii varieties upright as they mature.

Switchgrass is a native North American prairie grass that grows across soil types, moisture levels, and light conditions. The durable grass prefers lean soils to overly rich ones and needs few extra resources to thrive. It grows in wet and dry situations.

Ornamental grasses of different species work well for planting with Russian sage to attain high contrast while keeping with similar cultural requirements. Keep ornamental grasses intact until early spring to enjoy the dried plumes and blades through the winter. The seedheads provide food for birds and small mammals, and the leaves offer shelter.

Daylily

	botanical name Hemerocallis spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1-4’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Daylilies are renowned for their diversity of bloom colors and forms, but also for their rugged adaptability. The sun-worshipping flowers open during the day and close at night, lasting only a day or two but with abundant, successive blooms that bring long-lasting color. 

Flower stalks rise tall above strappy blue-green leaves. The clumping, arching green blades are opposite the finely textured, light leaves of the sage.

The two are tough perennials, with daylilies handling hot and cold climates and living for years with little care. There are invasive daylilies (Hemerocallis fulva) across North America, though cultivated hybrids aren’t.

Sedum

	botanical name Sedum spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3”-2’
	hardiness zones 3-9

Sedum, or stonecrop, is another complementary pairing with an attractive look all season and a big show in late summer and into fall. The heat-tolerant succulents have exciting forms, colors, textures, and late-season flowers that extend interest into winter with dried seed heads. 

Handsome even when plants aren’t in flower, look for cultivars in purple-black, golden yellow, and variegated to add depth among Salvia yangii. Thick leaves, whether broad or petite, offer multi-season appeal. 

Sedums thrive in well-draining soil. Butterflies enjoy the late-season flowers as a food source, and birds forage on the cool-season seeds.

Salvia

	botanical name Salvia spp.
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 1-3’
	hardiness zones 5-10

There are over 1000 species and varieties of Salvia, and pairing them with S. yangii brings diversity in color and form to the arrangements. The vibrant, tubular blooms of both species are sure to captivate pollinators. 

Bushy selections like scarlet sage (S. coccinea) or Mexican bush sage (S. leucantha) give leafy coverage and bring high color later in the season. Mealycup (S. farinacea) brings wands of tightly packed bloom spikes.

Yarrow

	botanical name Achillea millefolium
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 1-3’
	hardiness zones 3-9

This classic duo offers contrasting floral forms and hues with wide pollinator appeal and xeriscape functionality. The North American native Achillea produces broad bloom clusters on sturdy stems, with a multitude of cultivars in a range of sizes and colors.

Intermingle the straight species for a diversity of tall blooms, or opt for a low-growing cultivar as stem support for Russian sage. Silvery sprays among yarrow’s ferny foliage highlight the composition.

Yarrow matches the showy sage in its low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, and lean-soil qualities. With sunshine and well-drained soils, it needs little else to thrive.

Helenium

	botanical name Helenium autumnale
	sun requirements Full sun
	height 2-5’
	hardiness zones 3-8

Helenium is a North American native wildflower with ray petals fanning around a prominent central disc. The bright yellow blooms keep coming until cold weather arrives. The common name “sneezeweed” relates to old medicinal uses for colds, and not allergy-inducing fits caused by the blooms. Plant helenium with Russian sage for a late-season spectacle, shining into fall as other blooms fade.