Cleveland Sage, Salvia clevelandii

About Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii) 75 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Cleveland Sage is a beautiful, fast growing and highly aromatic species of sage native to the coast of southern California and northern Baja California. Its common names include Blue sage, Fragrant sage, and Cleveland sage. This is a small, hairy, grey-green shrub native to the chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities of the region. It has wrinkly leather-textured leaves with tiny ridged teeth along the edges and it bears plentiful rounded flower clusters of tubular lavender to dark purple flowers with long stamens. The fruit is a spotted nutlet. Hummingbirds are very attracted to this plant.

Plant Clevelend Sages on well-drained flats, bluffs or gentle slopes for best results. Limit summer water to no more than once per month, and if possible, naturalize after the first or second year. If this plant gets too much water it will often die after 2-3 years. It is somewhat more tolerant of garden watering in very well drained soils. Cultivars and hybrids include:
'Winnifred Gilman', a popular cultivar with intense violet-blue flowers. 'Betsy Clebsch', a shorter cultivar with wide variation in flower color. 'Allen Chickering', 'Aromas', 'Pozo Blue', 'Santa Cruz Dark', and 'Whirly Blue' are hybrids with similar appearance.
Salvia clevelandii is one of the parents of the hybrid Salvia 'Celestial Blue'.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

3 - 4.5 ft tall
8 ft wide

Form

Mounding

Growth Rate

Fast, Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color

Blue, Purple, Lavender

Flowering Season

Spring, Summer

Wildlife Supported

Hummingbirds, insects
Hummingbird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 7 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

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Summer Irrigation

Never irrigate once established

Nurseries

Carried by 75

Ease of Care

Very Easy, Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 20° F

Soil Drainage

Medium

Soil Description

Tolerant of a variety of soils, although performs better in well drained soils. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Deer Resistant, Hummingbird Gardens, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants

Chamise, Woolly Bluecurls, White Sage, California Buckwheat, California Coffeeberry, Toyon, Lemonade Berry, Coastal Prickly Pear Cactus, Manzanita species, Yucca spp,

Maintenance

May be deadheaded to extend blooming season. May be pruned in Fall to reduce size.

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: No treatment; sow outdoors in early fall. Germination may be poor if diurnal fluctuation is insufficient; also see alternative treatments for S. mellif era.

Sunset Zones?

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

Natural Setting

Site Type

Coastal to inland hills, canyons, bluffs and mesas as a component of mixed chaparral or coastal sage scrub

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 9.4" - 35.3", Summer Precipitation: 0.17" - 2.42", Coldest Month: 36.0" - 55.4", Hottest Month: 60.9" - 79.7", Humidity: 1.10" - 27.70", Elevation: 3" - 7631"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Blue Sage, Fragrant Sage

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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

Cleveland Sage

Salvia clevelandii

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Cleveland SageSalvia clevelandii

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Cleveland Sage

Salvia clevelandii