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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Lamiaceae (Labiatae) (Mints) |
| Origin: Mediterranean (Europe) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: Yellow |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Synonyms: [P. 'Edward Bowles] |
| Parentage: (P. russeliana x P. fruticosa) |
| Height: 4-5 feet |
| Width: 3-4 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Summer Dry: Yes |
| Deer Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 15-20° F |
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Phlomis 'Grande Verde' (Jerusalem Sage) - A medium-sized shrub that grows to 4-5 feet tall by at least as wide with large (2-3 inch long) lance-shaped, soft woolly green leaves that are wooly white beneath. The 1 inch long, bright lemon yellow flowers appear in whorls on erect stems spring through summer. It is cold tolerant to at least 18 degrees F. We have grown this plant since the early 1980s when it first mysteriously appeared in the nursery trade in California as a form of Phlomis fruticosa. It had such large green leaves and was so different from typical Phlomis fruticosa that we gave it the name "Grande Verde" to differentiate it from Phlomis fruticosa. Under the name 'Grande Verde' it has become a very popular landscape plant in California but through conversations with other horticulturists, and from information gleaned the book Phlomis by Jim Mann Taylor, it appears that this plant may actually be a cultivar called Edward Bowles that was first introduced in 1967 by Hillier Nursery in the UK and thought to be a cross between two other species that we grow, the shrubby Phlomis fruticosa and the large leaf perennial Phlomis russeliana. It reportedly originated from seed collected in the garden at Myddelton House that formerly had been cultivated by the famed British horticulturalist Edward Augustus (E. A.) Bowles (1865-1954). Because we have long grown it under the name 'Grande Verde', and our customers know if by this name, we continue to list it as such but cross reference it as possibly being the same as the cultivar 'Edward Bowles'. Phlomis fruticosa has a wide distribution from the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia, Crete, Cyprus and Malta north through Greece, Italy the area formerly called Yugoslavia, Turkey into the southern areas of the former Russian states. The other possible parent, Phlomis russeliana, is endemic to Turkey. The name for the genus dates back to the first century AD from the Greek physician Dioscorides use of the word to describe some plants in the genus and it thought to originate from the Greek word meaning "flame" because the leaves of some species were used for lamp wicks. We have offered this plant at our nursery since 1989.
This information about Phlomis 'Grande Verde' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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