Leucophyllum frutescens is an evergreen shrub and is noted for it’s attractive soft silvery leaves. Having a rounded dense growth habit this attractive shrub makes an ideal screening plant or an attractive specimen in any garden.

• Common Name: Texas barometer bush
• Type: Broadleaf evergreen
• Height: 5 to 8 feet
• Bloom Time: Seasonal bloomer
• Bloom Description: Purple
• Sun: Full sun
• Water: Dry to medium
• Flower: Showy
• Leaf: Colorful, Evergreen

Culture

It is easily grown in alkaline, gravelly, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Add dolomitic limestone to acidic soils. Plants thrive in gritty soils with minimal moisture. Sharp drainage is essential. Overwatering or poorly-drained soils must be avoided. In areas of high rainfall, consider use of raised beds. Plants prefer low humidity, but have excellent tolerance for drought and heat. Do not fertilize plants. Once established, plants require minimal maintenance. Propagate by seed or cuttings.

Characteristics

Leucophyllum frutescens, commonly called Texas sage, silver leaf or barometer bush, is a compact but loosely branched shrub that typically grows to 5-8′ tall. Plants tend to sprawl with age unless pruned as needed. This shrub is native to rocky limestone slopes in calcareous soils in the Chihuahuan Desert extending from northern Mexico into Texas and New Mexico. Attractive silver gray leaves (to 1″ long) with stellate hairs are close to being evergreen, but some leaf drop will occur in winter. Small, 5-lobed, tubular, purple flowers (to 1″ long) bloom singly from the leaf axils at various times during the year but primarily from summer into fall. Flower bloom is typically triggered by rains or significant soil moisture, hence the common name of barometer bush. Flowers give way to 2-valved capsules.

Uses

Where winter hardy, this plant is effectively grown as a hedge, windbreak or screen. Foundations. Borders. Lawn specimen. Large containers near patios or along driveways. Xeriscape plant.