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....
Big Sagebrush
Artemisia tridentata
  
48 Nurseries Carry This Plant

About Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) 48 Nurseries Carry This Plant Also known by the names Common Sagebrush, Blue/Black Sagebrush or Mountain Sagebrush, it is a shrub or small tree from the family Asteraceae. It is a coarse, hardy silvery-grey bush with inconspicuous yellow-green flowers and grows in arid sections of the western United States and Western Canada. It is the primary vegetation across vast areas of the Great Basin desert and is an indicator species for high desert (above 1,500 ft.). Like others in this genus, it has highly aromatic foliage. Unlike some others of this genus, it develops a true woody trunk and branches. In maturity the twisted trunk can become picturesque and suitable for bonsai treatment. Along rivers or in other relatively wet areas, sagebrush can grow as tall as 3 meters (10 feet), but is more typically 1-2 meters tall.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
3 - 15 ft tall
10 ft wide

Form
Form
Upright, Rounded

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Moderate, Slow

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Yellow, Cream, White, Green

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Summer

Wildlife Supported
 
Numerous insects, birds and small mammals are attracted to the flowers and seeds

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 3 confirmed , 29 likely * ) SHOW ALL
Hemileuca hera Image
Hera Buckmoth Hemileuca heraHemileuca hera
Apantesis nevadensis Image
Nevada Tiger Moth Apantesis nevadensisApantesis nevadensis
Schinia acutilinea Image
Acute-lined Flower Moth Schinia acutilineaSchinia acutilinea
*
Vanessa cardui Image
Painted Lady Vanessa carduiVanessa cardui
*
Vanessa virginiensis Image
American Lady Vanessa virginiensisVanessa virginiensis
*
Papilio machaon Image
Old World Swallowtail Papilio machaonPapilio machaon
*
Lycaena rubidus Image
Ruddy Copper Lycaena rubidusLycaena rubidus

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Extremely Low, Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries
Nurseries
Carried by 48

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to -10° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Prefers coarse, well drained soil such as decomposed granite. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.5

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

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Greenleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos patula), Parry Manzanita (Arctostaphylos parryana), Rubber Rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseoua), California Juniper (Juniperus californicus), Scarlet Bugler (Penstemon centranthifolius), Showy (Penstemon spectabilis), Jeffrey Pine (Pinus jeffreyi), Oneneedle Pine (Pinus monophylla), Antelope Brush (Purshia tridentata) and Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia).

Propagation
Propagation?
Stratified seeds or cuttings.  For propagating by seed: 3-3.5 mos. stratification (USDA Forest Service 1974); 10 wks. may be sufficient (Stidham et al. 1980).

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry valleys, canyons and slopes typically on the east slope of mountain ranges

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 3.8" - 85.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.12" - 4.47", Coldest Month: 17.4" - 56.0", Hottest Month: 38.7" - 80.7", Humidity: 0.38" - 33.62", Elevation: 53" - 14200"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Big Sagebush


Print Plant Sign Print Plant Label
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