I wish I could help you, cdk! But, I've never had Russian Sage plants.

In such a cold zone (4?/3), you must have already had a frost. Tender blooms are the first to be damaged even in light frosts. The center petals of the dahlias will turn brown and die even if the larger, more mature, outer petals are unchanged.

Snapdragon plants can look perfectly fine after a fairly hard frost but the flower buds will stop developing. There must be a few days of warm weather to put them back on the path to blooming, if they are so lucky.

Can you tell us about your recent weather?

digitSteve

I live in Florissant, 45 miles West of Colorado Springs. We have had some nights below freezing for about 4-5 weeks. The days get warm (~65-70), and we have had some hard wind during some days. Russian Sage, Snow in Summer, & Catmint are 3 plants the deer DO NOT EAT. I have 2+ acres and have lived here for 10 years. I have experimented with many of the suggested Deer Resistant plants & have been dissapointed with most (they will eat ANYTHING of they are hungry). I planted Dwarf Essex Rape and several other forage foods in our front acre (50 yards from flower beds). I figured if I fed them something to keep them out of my small front yard I would have more success. They took to the forage quite well & have stayed away (pretty much) from the flower beds. Any help you can give is GREATLY appreciated.

Karen

Karen, if I was planting forage crops for the deer, I'd probably be taking aim at feasting on a little venison, myself.

Russian Sage plants are very pretty in spacious settings. Here's wishing you the best of luck (& a knowledgeable responder) but I'm thinking that a good Fall watering may well get them thru until next growing season.

digitS'

Karen - I'm not quite sure what you mean about the "blooms" curling. If you mean the tiny little individual flowers, then yes they shrivel and fall about this time of year. If you mean that the branches the flowers are on are curling, then no that is not their usual habit. Normally, after the blooms drop, the branches stand tall throughout the winter.

I assume you are aware that Russian sage are xeric and don't need much water - although they need a little more when they are young and getting settled. The one thing I do notice is that you have them planted in top soil and compost. Could be a little rich for them. This is the kind of plant that you are much more likely to kill with kindness than neglect.

Wish I had more help to offer, but that's about the best I can do. I hope your plants make it - I love mine.

WW

Hi CDK,

IÂm not real sure, either, what you mean by curling, but if you mean the stems themselves arenÂt staying upright and are kind of wimpy and wavy/curly looking, that happens to mine too. Mine is definitely NOT in enough sun, and probably gets too much water because IÂm always watering other perennials around it. Russian sage should be in full, all day, sun if possible, then should be given LOTS of room to "spread out," which they love to do when they get bigger, and, as WW has said, they need VERY little water, and would probably prefer a poorer soil than it sounds like you have them in.

I donÂt have a picture to post of mineÂbecause it always looks so awful IÂve never taken a picture of it! Next year itÂs outta here until I can get a place in the full sun ready for one. Is there a possibility you could post a picture so we can see exactly whatÂs happening?

Welcome to RMG! WeÂre glad you found us,
Skybird