Phlomis fruticosa
Credits
Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles
Recommended citation
'Phlomis fruticosa' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.
Common Names
- Jerusalem Sage
Infraspecifics
Other taxa in genus
A vigorous evergreen shrub; branchlets soft, herbaceous, stout, square, thickly covered with grey, branched hairs. Leaves opposite, dull green, wrinkled, and with prominent veining like common sage, 2 to 5 in. long, 11⁄2 to 13⁄4 in. wide, ovate-lanceolate, covered with branched hairs, sparsely above, thickly beneath; stalks 1⁄4 to 1 in. long. Flowers stalkless, bright yellow, crowded at the leaf-bases in two dense clusters which together form a circular tier 2 in. across. Corolla 11⁄4 in. long, two-lipped, the upper lip hood-shaped; calyx green, funnel-shaped, hairy, with five projecting narrow teeth at the top. Bot. Mag., t. 1843.
Native of the Mediterranean region, with its western limit in Malta, Sicily, and Sardinia; cultivated in England since the 16th century. The flowers develop in late summer and autumn, and are very bright and interesting, forming curious, short, crowded clusters. The foliage is like that of a giant sage, but is weakly scented. Easily propagated by cuttings. The Jerusalem sage should have some sunny sheltered spot, such as a house corner facing south, or a dryish, sunny bank.
'Edward Bowles'
This clone appears to be no more than a robust form of P. fruticosa with flowers of a paler yellow. The leaves are up to 6 in. long and 3 in. wide, on petioles up to 51⁄2 in. long.
'Rougemont'
A variegated clone with the leaves variably splashed or sectored with creamy markings. It originated in the grounds of the Rougemont Hotel, Exeter, Devon (The Frustrated Gardener 2015). It is understandably rare, and is included in the Plant Heritage Plant Guardians list of cultivars requiring careful custodianship (Plant Heritage 2020).
