I am looking for rare Siberian lavender. Can you help?
I think what you mean is Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia. You might want to phone your favorite retail nursery to see whether they carry it (it is very popular). If it is not available, here are two Oregon nurseries that list it in their current catalogs:
Forestfarm in Williams, OR.
Joy Creek Nursery in Scappoose, OR
The following article (now archived) from University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana Extension describes the confusion between Russian sage and ‘Siberian lavender:’
“To the best of my knowledge, there is no such plant as Siberian Lavender. I have heard of English lavender, French lavender and Spanish lavender. By law all of these offers must list the Latin name of the plant; although sometimes it is in the tiniest of print. Check the ad again and see if you can find the words Perovskia atriplicifolia anywhere in the ad. Russian sage. It is a really fine plant, but it is not lavender. It does not look like lavender and it does not smell like lavender.
Do your homework and read the fine print. I know many people are not familiar with botanical names, but that is the only way to know what you are getting. Once you know the botanical name, even if you cannot pronounce it, you can find information about the plant. Botanical names are unique. Common names can be very misleading.
A good example is an ad I saw recently in the newspaper. It was touting the luxurious beauty and fragrance of Siberian lavender. I had never heard of anything called Siberian lavender so I kept reading. The ad stated (with lots of exclamation points) how Siberian lavender produces thousands of flowers and has the delicate scent of lavender perfume year after year. Wow, sounds pretty fantastic. I continued to look to find the botanical name. In the minuscule fine print it said, Variety: perovskia atripliafolia (which I assume to be the misspelling of Perovskia atriplicifolia) also known as Russian sage. Russian sage is a nice perennial plant with silvery white leaves and soft bluish-purple flowers held in loose spikes. However, even from far away on a foggy day I doubt Russian sage would hold even a slight resemblance to lavender. Russian sage does have a fragrance, but it is more reminiscent of sage than of lavender.”
![[RHS Genealogy for Gardeners]]cover](https://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/graphix/RHSGenealogyforgardeners (2).jpg)
In my work as a horticulture reference librarian, I am often presented with a scrap of leaf or flower or twig, and asked to identify it. Although I have a pretty good visual memory for plants and their names, I have no formal training in botany. A Botanist’s Vocabulary by Susan Pell and Bobbi Angell (Timber Press, 2016) is a useful tool not just for botanists but for all who work with plants—home gardeners and professionals alike. The book is arranged in straight alphabetical dictionary order, which makes it easy to look up a term you may have come across in the course of learning about a plant. It complements a book like The Cambridge Illustrated Glossary of Botanical Terms (Michael Hickey and Clive King, 2000), which is organized by the parts of a plant—the roots, seeds, flowers, leaves, fruits, and so forth. The pen and ink illustrations by Bobbi Angell are very clear, and red arrows or markings indicate the part of the plant referred to by a term, when such clarification is needed. The definitions are also concise, and include synonyms or in some cases antonyms, as relevant. I found familiar as well as unfamiliar terms, and as a word-nerd this is the kind of reference book that is a great joy to browse. The only desired feature the book lacks is consistent identification of the plant or plant family shown in each illustration. Some are named, but many are not. It would be helpful, once one has looked up the word, to have at least one example of which genus or family exhibits the characteristic being described and defined.