Texas Sage, commonly known by other names as Cenizo, Texas Ranger, or Barometer Bush, is a well-known native shrub often used in Texas commercial and residential landscapes. Texas Sage is evergreen and typically needs full sun to look its best. Texas Sage has very unique silver-gray velvet textured leaves and bright purple flowers that bloom in the summer and fall, but it is also valued for its ability to thrive in heat and drought conditions. The native Texas Sage is rather large and can grow to be 6 feet tall, but there are other cultivars to choose from that can give you a more manageable sized shrub. Texas Rangers are in fact not a true sage although they are often called Texas Sage. Texas Rangers are more cold tolerant to 10 degrees Fahrenheit making these varieties excellent for commercial use throughout Texas. Leucophyllum candidum ‘Thunder Cloud’ is a featured Texas Ranger below.
Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Silverado’ grows up to 6 feet tall and wide with a dense growth habit to the base making it a better selection of Texas Sage than other varieties of its size. This variety is fast growing which allows an established look in the landscape in just a couple growing seasons. Like most Texas Sage, ‘Silverado’ grows best in zones 8-11 with silver foliage and blooms spring through fall. It is a common variety for commercial use.
Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Bertstar Dwarf’ is a dwarf variety and only grows to be about 4 feet tall. This variety has the same signature silver-gray foliage and purple blooms as other varieties but blooms repeatedly throughout the year. ‘Bertstar Dwarf’ should be planted in full sun in zones 8-11 and can be used to provide year-round interest in a home garden attracting butterflies, birds, and bees when flowering.
Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Green Cloud’ is a unique variety because instead of the silver foliage with purple booms, it sports green foliage and rose colored blooms. ‘Green Cloud’ is best planted in full sun in zones 8-10 and is drought tolerant and deer resistant. This variety blooms from June through October usually after rain, is very compact, more vigorous than other varieties, and it can grow up to 5-6 feet tall.
Leucophyllum candidum ‘Thunder Cloud’ is a slow growing compact variety up to 3 feet tall and wide. ‘Thunder Cloud’ thrives in full sun in zones 8-11 and is known to be extremely heat and drought resistant once established. This compact shrub consistently reveals purple flowers from spring to fall flowering repeatedly and especially after a rainfall. ‘Thunder Cloud’ is the most common dwarf variety of Texas Rangers used commercially in Texas.