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Salvia apiana (White Sage) - This sage is an evergreen subshrub to 3 to 5 feet tall with soft, 1 1/2- to 3-inch-long leaves that first emerge a gray green but mature to a gray-white with wavy margins and they clothe the herbaceous stems, which rise are erect from the woody base. The leaves contain oil glands that emit a strong aroma when rubbed. In spring into summer appear the white, aging to pale pink, flowers that form in whorls (congested vertices or rings of flowers) along 3-to-4-foot stems in the spring and summer.
Plant in an open full sun site with well-draining soil. Irrigate infrequently to not at all once plants are established. It is cold hardy to 10 to 15° F. A wonderful ornamental sage for the dry garden and the aromatic oils and resins make it popular for use as incense. The flowers are very attractive to bees and other pollinators, including carpenter bees, bumble bees, and hummingbirds, but the terpenoids and essential oils in the foliage discourage predation by deer and rabbits. Trim back in the fall to promote a denser more compact plant.
Salvia apiana grows in southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. If can be found growing abundantly in coastal sage scrub plant communities in Southern California and Baja California and on the western edges of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts below 5,000 feet in elevation - it is common within the rocks in Joshua Tree National Park. The name Salvia comes from the Latin name used by Pliny for the plant and comes from the Latin word 'salvere' meaning "to save" in reference to the long-believed healing properties of the plant. The specific epithet, apiana, refers to bees and the attraction white sage has for them. Beekeepers understand this and have keep hives in the chaparral areas for this reason.
Native Americans and others have long used the dried or fresh leaves for ceremonial purposes, teas and shampoos. White Sage is known to naturally hybridize with Salvia mellifera, S. leucophylla and S. clevelandii and we grow one such hybrid, form Salvia 'Desperado' that is the result of it crossing with Salvia leucophylla. We have grown this wonderful native sage from seed continually since 1998.
This information about Salvia apiana displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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