Howdy folks,
In regards to the Sage mix up: Retail outlets are only as
dependable as their wholesale vendors. What seperates a reliable
Nursery from one that sells mislabeled plants, is the care with which
they chose and oversee the vendors stock. I had a lot of problems with
one major supplier of six packs who would stick 'Ichiban Eggplant'
tags in Italian standard eggplants on a regular basis. That was an
easy one to catch because the Ichiban have a dark vein in their leaves
that the Italian did not. Whether that was unintentional or they were
simply filling orders. I don't know, but I learned to stay away from
them.
If there are any folks who work in retail on the list, or run
landscaping businesses, I'm going to shamelessly plug two growers of
who I think are the best wholesale operations in Central Texas:
Gabriel Valley Farms up in Georgetown owned by Sam and Cathy
Slaughter, who I've dealt with for some years and are meticulous in
their controls and getting out good product. The second is Greenman,
out near New Sweden. ( Neither do retail sales, they are Business to
Business enterprises.)
The common denominator between Greenman and Gabriel Valley is they
are serious plant people who make sure they grow good stock, they know
their plants and make sure they are accurately labeled.

As far as plant height descriptions, I'm a lot more comfortable
when a range of possible heights are given. It's unrealistic with
plants, given genetic variability of seeds and more importantly with
asexually propagated plants, variability in conditions, to expect them
to grow to a uniform height designated by a single measurement.

take care,
Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com