It is the time of year one of my favorite fall plants is blooming, Salvia leucantha or Mexican Bush Sage.  I really like purple, and I really like tall upright perennials.  However, I am somewhat hesitant in calling S. leucantha a perennial, as it isn't always so.  Some years it's an annual, even here in zone 8.  From what I have read, and from my personal experience, it is not our cold winters that do them in, but wet ones.  If S. leucantha is not given good drainage, it can easily rot during a wet winter.  As to sunlight, it prefers as much as you can give it, and even though it is drought tolerant, during its summer growth spurt, make sure it has adequate moisture.

     S. luecantha starts blooming in late September and will continue to produce flowers until we get freezing weather.  Like many tender perennials, it is best to leave the cold-damaged stems and foliage in place until late March, and then cut them down to the ground.  Because of it's less than perennial nature, I always buy new ones on spring.  However, if you look in the herb section of the nursery, S. leucantha can often be found among the culinary sages and at a fraction of the price you would pay in the perennial section.  I am not the only one who appreciates this plant, our native bumblebees are quite fond of it as well.