Plant of the Month
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White Sage
Salvia apiana
- Plant Form: Evergreen shrub
- Water Use: Very Low
- Mature Size: 2-3 feet tall x 3-6 feet wide
- Exposure: Full Sun
- Bloom Time: Spring (April – June)
- Native to: California to Baja (below 4,500 feet)
- Hardiness: Cold Hardy to 15°F
White Sage provides striking silver foliage all year that complements its companion garden plants that have deep green leaves. This shrub’s aromatic leaves provided purifying smoke when burned during ceremonies by California’s Native Americans. Tall spikes of flowers in spring provide bees with pollen used for protein to feed the colony, while the flowers’ nectar is converted into honey to feed larvae and for winter survival. The species name apiana actually translates to “bee,” highlighting the plant’s strong, co-evolved relationship with bees.
White sage is an aromatic, slow-growing, evergreen shrub prized for a variety of qualities. Gardeners treasure this drought-tolerant native for its beautiful white foliage, almost luminous in the early evening and on moonlight nights. Bees love this prolific bloomer, and make a flavorful honey from its white to lavender-tinged flowers. California Indians revere this shrub as sacred, burning its leaves as incense during purification and other sacred ceremonies. In spring, flower stalks grow quickly up to 6 feet tall. Trim back these stalks when they dry to a tan color in late summer to keep plants from becoming leggy, and to prevent wind damage; shake stalks to release seeds to start new plants. This shrub stays clean and tidy even without summer water, and is virtually pest free. Its hollow stems break easily, so place it where hoses or passers-by won’t hit it. White sage makes a striking focal point in a border, and is valuable massed on slopes to deter erosion.
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