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Black Sage
Salvia mellifera
  
About Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) 89 Nurseries Carry This Plant Black sage is the most common sage in California. Though less showy than other Salvia species and cultivars, it is an important food source for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The flowers are small and pale blue-lavender in color. After blooming, black sage seeds provide food for birds, including quail and towhees.

A black sage shrub can grow up to 6 feet tall and 10 feet wide. In the garden, this aromatic plant prefers full sun and well-draining soil. It is a low-moisture plant, requiring no supplemental water once established. It is usual for the small, dark green leaves to curl during summer drought.
Bornstein, C., Fross, D., & O’Brien, B. (2005). California Native Plants for the Garden.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
3 - 6 ft tall
3 - 10 ft wide

Form
Form
Mounding

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen, Summer Semi-Deciduous, Summer Deciduous,

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Blue, Lavender, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Insects, especially bees and butterflies, and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. Quail, Towhees and other birds are attracted to the seeds.

 

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established, Never irrigate once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 30° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils although it is happier with good drainage. Tolerates Gabro Soil,Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 4.0 - 8.0

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

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: No treatment; sow outdoors in early fall. Germination may be poor. The following alternative treatments may improve germination: stratify 3 mos. or soak in 400 ppm GA3 1 hr., then dry and sow (Betty Atwater, personal communication 1981).

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

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Flats, mesas, foothills, canyons, shallow slopes, and slope bottoms as part of coastal sage scrub and chaparral

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 4.5" - 51.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 2.64", Coldest Month: 34.4" - 60.4", Hottest Month: 58.6" - 88.3", Humidity: 0.41" - 42.82", Elevation: -18" - 6692"


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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