Thistle Sage, Salvia carduacea

About Thistle Sage (Salvia carduacea) 3 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Thistle Sage (Salvia carduacea) is a native annual herb in the Lamiaceae (Mint) family that grows in southern and central California, primarily in hot, dry inland areas. It comes closest to the coast in northern Santa Barbara County. It tends to grow in sandy or gravelly places, at elevations from 0-4500 feet. It has a distinctive thistle appearance but is not related to true thistles. It is more closely related to Chia (S. columbariae). It is almost always grown from seed and is sometimes included in desert seed mixes.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Annual herb

Size

0.33 - 3.3 ft tall
1 ft wide

Fragrance

Slight

Flower Color

Blue

Flowering Season

Spring

Wildlife Supported

Insects and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers. Various other birds and small mammals are attracted to the seeds
Hummingbird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 9 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Alfalfa Looper Moth Autographa californicaAutographa californica

Bilobed Looper Moth Megalographa bilobaMegalographa biloba

Wavy-Lined Emerald Synchlora aerataSynchlora aerata

Hawaiian Beet Webworm Spoladea recurvalisSpoladea recurvalis

Pherne subpunctataPherne subpunctata

Anstenoptilia marmarodactylaAnstenoptilia marmarodactyla

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Nurseries

Carried by 3

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage

Fast

Soil Description

Typically fast draining such as desert sand or decomposed granite. Tolerates Sodic Soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

Use with Saltbush (Atriplex sp.), Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa or actonii), Buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.), Lupine (Lupinus sp.), Chuparosa (Justicia californica), Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea), and various cactus and succulent species. Also can be mixed with other annuals herbs.

Propagation?

By seed

Sunset Zones?

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

Natural Setting

Site Type

Sandy or gravelly places of inland plains, valleys and hills in the southern half of the state

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 3.9" - 29.4", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 1.91", Coldest Month: 38.8" - 57.1", Hottest Month: 59.7" - 85.9", Humidity: 0.68" - 36.75", Elevation: 1" - 6599"

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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

Thistle Sage

Salvia carduacea

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Thistle SageSalvia carduacea

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Thistle Sage

Salvia carduacea