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White Sage
Salvia apiana
  
About White Sage (Salvia apiana) 108 Nurseries Carry This Plant Native to Southern California's coastal sage scrub region, White Sage (Salvia apiana) is one of the state's most important Salvia species. White Sage is fragrant, with silver-white leaves, and clusters of white flowers with lavender streaks. Young leaves start off green and turn white as they get older.

White Sage is deeply rooted in the cultures and lifeways of Indigenous communities of Southern California and northern Baja, the only region this sage naturally occurs in the world. This plant's limited wild populations are under threat from poaching, climate change, and development.

Nursery-grown White Sage is a valuable pollinator plant in the garden. The small white flowers are a favorite of carpenter bees, bumble bees, and hummingbirds. In Latin, ?apiana? means of or belonging to bees. The blooms are accented by silvery-white foliage. White Sage is a drought-adapted low-water shrub that grows best in full sun. Pruning helps keep it neat and compact.
Bornstein, C., Fross, D., O’Brien, B. (2005). California Native Plants for the Garden. Cachuma Press.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
3 - 5 ft tall
3 - 8 ft wide

Form
Form
Mounding

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast, Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Hummingbirds, insects, especially carpenter bees and bumble bees

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 8 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 0° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Adaptable to a variety of soil types. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Groundcovers, Hedges, Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Maintenance
Maintenance
Flower stalks may be removed when finished in late summer. Sprawling branches may be removed if desired at any time.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment; sow outdoors in early fall. Germination may be poor if diurnal fluctuation is insufficient; also see alternative treatments for Black Sage (Salvia mellifera).

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
7*, 8, 9, 11, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes, foothills, canyons, and mesas of Southern California and Baja California, Mexico, in the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges. A major component of chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and inland sage scrub plant communities, including desert transition zone. At higher elevations, it is sometimes found in openings in pine forest.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.8" - 37.6", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.84", Coldest Month: 35.6" - 59.1", Hottest Month: 62.1" - 87.7", Humidity: 0.72" - 38.56", Elevation: 7" - 7394"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Salvia apiana var. apiana
Common Names: Sacred Sage Bee Sage


Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


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