Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Sonoma Sage
Salvia sonomensis
  
About Sonoma Sage (Salvia sonomensis) 45 Nurseries Carry This Plant Sonoma Sage or Creeping Sage is a member of the Lamiaceae (Mint) family native to California. It is found in the Coast Ranges, Peninsular Range, and Sierra foothills. As suggested by its common name, it is a mat-forming subshrub with stems growing no more about 40 centimeters high. The leaves are about 3-6 centimeters long and.5 to 1.5 centimeters wide; they are hairy, the upper surface with minute hairs, and the lower surface so densely covered with recurved hairs that it looks white. The flower clusters are scapose, with clusters 1 to 1.5 centimeter wide. The flowers range in color from white to blue, lilac and purple. It is moderately drought tolerant if given some shade. It is sensitive to heat and direct sun; leaf drop is an indication of too much sun or heat or inadequate moisture. In suitable growing conditions it will forma mat up to 15 ft. wide while remaining about 1 ft. high.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub, Perennial herb

Size
Size
1.3 ft tall
5 - 15 ft wide

Form
Form
Spreading

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Blue, Lavender, Purple, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Hummingbirds, butterflies and various other insects are attracted to the flowers

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 9 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun, Part Shade

Moisture
Moisture
Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 3x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils as long as drainage is adequate. Tolerates Serpentine Soil. Soil PH: 5.0 - 7.5

Common uses
Common uses
Groundcovers, Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Use with shrubs or trees from its native ranges, such as larger Ceanothus sp., Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia or dumosa), tree Oaks (Quercus sp.), and various Pines (Pinus ponderosa and others)

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: 3 mos. stratification or soak in 100 ppm GA3 1 hr., then dry and sow within 1wk. (Nord et al. 1971). If a longer storage period is needed between treatment and sowing, use either a longer soaking period or higher concentration of up to 500 ppm ( USDA Forest Service 1974).

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

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes in the understory of larger chaparral shrubs, oaks, pines, or other trees at elevations below 5,000 ft.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 12.6" - 73.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.22" - 2.77", Coldest Month: 29.1" - 52.0", Hottest Month: 50.0" - 77.5", Humidity: 0.98" - 26.23", Elevation: 88" - 8808"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Creeping 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


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In