When it comes to adding beautiful, seasonal flowering plants into just about any Bay Area landscape, few plants can match the delight that your customers will find with so many Salvias.
These amazing plants offer an attractive group of features that are perfectly aligned with our region’s Mediterranean climate and diverse landscape conditions.
These amazing plants offer an attractive group of features that are perfectly aligned with our region’s Mediterranean climate and diverse landscape conditions.
Picture perfect Salvias for the Bay Area
In our mild, wet winters and dry summers, Salvias thrive throughout the Bay Area—even during climate-change-related heat waves or coastal, damp, foggy days.As design components in a landscape, Salvias can be used in a variety of ways to create beautiful, low-maintenance gardens. When planted in larger groups, they create bold swathes of color and contrasting grey-green leaf textures. They can also be very effective when used as accents for adding interest and intense spot color to a border.
Their versatility and adaptability are perfect for small gardens, urban spaces, and featured containers.
Salvias are generally summer-dry tolerant. And, fortunately, many species are deer-resistant. Many are also very tolerant of rocky and clay soils that are pervasive throughout our region.
What’s not to love about Salvias?
With so many attractive qualities, it’s easy for your customers to love Salvias | Pacific Nurseries
The aromatic attraction of Salvias
With nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals, Salvia can be found growing in deserts, grasslands, forests, and mountains throughout the world. They are prized as beautiful, ornamental plants and herbs with distinguishing, aromatic foliage.Many Salvia have fine hairs that grow on the leaves, stems, and flowers which are called trichomes. These functional and tactile features help to reduce water loss and sustain plant moisture. The trichomes also secrete volatile oils that provide distinctive plant aromas.
When the hairs are rubbed or brushed, some of the oil-bearing cells are ruptured, thereby releasing the oil. As a result, Salvias are mostly unattractive to grazing animals—especially voracious deer and even some insects.
Blooming beauty all seasons long
Depending on the species, Salvias can bloom from early spring through to the fall. Some species, such as Salvia nemorosa and Salvia pratensis, bloom in early summer. Others, such as Salvia guaranitica and Salvia leucantha, may not bloom until late summer or early fall.The specific bloom time can also be influenced by growing conditions such as temperature, light, and moisture levels. In general, Salvias prefer full sun to partial shade and can perform well in challenging soils. In the right conditions, it’s not uncommon for Salvias to bloom continuously for several months.
Removing spent flowers can help to prolong the bloom time of most Salvias. This minor maintenance routine encourages the plant to produce more flowers, rather than putting energy into producing seeds. Deadheading also helps to keep the plant looking tidy and prevents the spread of diseases that can be carried by spent flowers.
“I use Salvias primarily for form and color but also for disease and pest resistance. Problem areas can simply be pruned away and often salvia will “outgrow” the problem and quickly look great again.”
Britt Callaway | Callaway Landscapes
Britt Callaway | Callaway Landscapes
So many Salvias
Some of the most commonly grown species of Salvia include Salvia officinalis, which is commonly known as sage and is used in cooking. Salvia splendens is also a very popular plant for Bay Area landscapes that blooms with bright red, pink, or purple flowers.With some help from the many talented Landscape Pros that we work with, we are featuring a great group of Salvias—including many CA natives—that could be just the right solution for your landscape project. Consider adding a group to your seasonal planting plans.
Popular + Versatile Salvias
Salvia ‘Amistad’
Common name | Friendship Sage
Salvia ‘Amistad’ is medium size semi-shrubby Salvia that grows quickly. It features glossy green deltoid-shaped leaves that contrast with its dramatic, dark royal purple flowers. Like most Salvias, it performs best in full to part sun and prefers fast-draining soil with moderate watering. It looks great when planted in mass or in large containers.
Salvia apiana
CA Native Common name | White Sage
Salvia apiana is a fragrant Salvia variety featuring slender, silver-white leaves that appear green and turn white as they age. Clusters of small, white flowers with lavender streaks appear on tall spikes and form whorls as the plant blooms. This coastal sage scrub native to Southern California is also an important food source for bees, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife. Carpenter bees are the predominant pollinators of this Salvia. It prefers full sun, coarse or loamy mineral-rich soil that drains easily and is summer-dry-tolerant.
Salvia chamaedryiodes
Common name | Friendship Sage
Salvia chamaedryoides, also know as Germander Sage, is an evergreen shrub that grows with a dense mounding and spreading habit. It features small narrow, grey-green leaves and striking blue flowers that appear almost year-round. From mid-spring through late fall, blooms flourish. This Salvia prefers well-draining soil, does best in full sun to light shade, and requires little water once established.
“I find Salvias quite valuable because they’re not invasive, have low water needs, and attract Bees and Butterflies. Their grayish foliage provides a lovely color contrast and I will use them in a mass for fragrance.”
John Lakian | Lakian Landscapes
John Lakian | Lakian Landscapes
Salvia chiapensis
Common name | Garnet Sage
Salvia chiapensis is a herbaceous perennial Salvia that features glossy, green elliptical leaves with sunken veins. From summer into the late fall, numerous, bright, fuchsia-colored flowers appear on dramatic 1′ tall stems. This Salvia prefers well-drained soil with lots of organic matter. It also performs best in coastal sun to part shade.
Salvia clevelandii
CA Native Common name | Cleveland Sage
Salvia clevelandii is a dense shrub that features the gray-green foliage so familiar to Salvias. Rich, lavender flowers appear on dramatic 2′ long spikes in late spring and summer. It performs best in full sun, and well-draining soil while requiring only occasional water once established. Winter pruning can help to keep a dense, attractive form for this beautiful Salvia. Popular varieties with many Landscape Pros and their customers include Salvia c. ‘Allen Chickering‘ and Salvia c. ‘Winnifred Gilman’.
Salvia elegans
Common name | Pinapple Sage
Salvia elegans is a herbaceous perennial Salvia that grows quickly. It features yellow-green, deltoid-shaped leaves that are fuzzy, aromatic, pineapple-scented wonders. The foliage is also edible. Bright, scarlet-red flowers bloom abundantly from late summer into early winter. This Salvia does best in full sun with partial shade, rich soil, and regular watering. It’s hard to find a better plant for attracting hummingbirds. And the scent of the foliage is truly amazing!
Salvia greggii
Common name | Autumn Sage
Salvia greggii is an evergreen subshrub that features aromatic light green glabrous leaves with delicate, magenta-red, white, yellow, or purple flowers that appear on the branch tips throughout summer and into fall. This Salvia prefers full sun, well-drained soil with only occasional irrigation. This is an attractive and tough, summer-dry-tolerant plant that is incredibly attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. Even better, deer are just not interested in it.
Salvia leucantha
Common name | Mexican Bush Sage
Salvia leucantha is a fast-growing, hardy shrub that features upright stems covered with woolly white hairs and narrow, grey-green leaves with short hairs. Beautiful and abundant soft purple flowers appear on long branch tips with white petals. These very distinctive flowers appear almost year-round and especially between spring through fall. The attractive flowers can be cut and used in arrangements or dried for use later. This Salvia prefers full sun to light shade with only occasional water. It also performs best when older flowers are cut back annually to encourage more upright growth and a more controlled appearance. Some of our most popular varieties of Salvia leucantha include ‘Midnight’, ‘Santa Barbara’, and ‘White Mischief’.
Salvia leucophylla ‘Bee’s Bliss’
CA Native Common name | Purple Sage
As a native California low-growing shrub, Salvia leucophylla ‘Bee’s Bliss’ features familiar grey-green Salvia leaves with soft lavender-blue flowers that appear on 1′ long spikes from mid-spring into early summer. This Salvia is a great solution to use as a ground cover on sloped terrain. It’s a summer-dry-tolerant native that does not like overhead irrigation because it can promote powdery mildew—especially in coastal areas. It prefers full sun and occasional deep watering to look its best. Pollinators love this plant and deer avoid it. One of the most popular varieties that performs well in the Bay Area is Salvia leucophylla ‘Point Sal’.
Salvia ‘Dara’s Choice’
CA Native Common name | Creeping Sage
The CA native, Salvia ‘Dara’s Choice’, features dense, aromatic, grey-green Salvia foliage that contrasts with soft, lavender-blue flowers that appear on small whorls in the late spring to early summer. With a dense, mounding form, it does best in coastal sun or part shade. It’s summer-dry-tolerant once established and is also very attractive to pollinators.
“One of my favorite California native plants is Salvia ‘Dara’s Choice’ because hummingbirds and bees are so attracted to it.”
Raul Campos | Raul Campos Landscapes
Raul Campos | Raul Campos Landscapes
Salvia millefera ‘Terra Seca’
CA Native Common name | Black Sage
Salvia millefera ‘Terra Seca’ is a low-spreading, mounding sage that is perfect for application on slopes or erosion-prone areas. It features evergreen, grey-green leaves that are fragrant. This foliage contrasts beautifully with pale white flowers that form in a semi-circular fashion in tufts that appear on long, upright stems during bloom season. This Salvia is very summer-dry-tolerant and attractive to both bee and bird pollinators. It performs best in full sun and tolerates almost any Bay Area soil type.
Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’
Common name | Hot Lips Sage
Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’ is a vigorous, evergreen subshrub that features aromatic, small ovate-shaped deep green leaves that are soft and scalloped. Abundant, showy, red and white bicolored flowers bloom from spring to late fall. These flowers first appear pure red, then turn bicolored through the season. This beauty prefers full to part sun, well-drained soil and little water once established—especially in coastal gardens. As an award-winning Salvia by Garden Design magazine and the Royal Horticultural Society, it’s summer-dry-tolerant and a great attractor of bee and bird pollinators. For Salvia enthusiasts and Bay Area Landscape Pros, this is a top-performing plant that will fill your customers with delight.
Salvia nemorosa ‘East Friesland’
Common name | Woodland Sage
Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’ is a vigorous, evergreen subshrub that features aromatic, small ovate-shaped deep green leaves that are soft and scalloped. Abundant, showy, red and white bicolored flowers bloom from spring to late fall. These flowers first appear pure red, then turn bicolored through the season. This beauty prefers full to part sun, well-drained soil and little water once established—especially in coastal gardens. As an award-winning Salvia by Garden Design magazine and the Royal Horticultural Society, it’s summer-dry-tolerant and a great attractor of bee and bird pollinators. For Salvia enthusiasts and Bay Area Landscape Pros, this is a top-performing plant that will fill your customers with delight.
Ready to integrate some amazing Salvias into your project?
If you want to learn more about selecting the right Salvia for your project, contact any of our Customer Service experts by clicking on the PHONE icon below their name to call. Or click on the ENVELOPE icon below their name to send an email directly to them. If that’s all too complicated, just reach out at 650.755.2330. You can also check out our Plant Availability List. This comprehensive list is updated weekly and it will tell you plant sizes, quantities, and details about what’s available for sale right now at our Colma location. But if you don’t see what you’re looking for, let us know and we’ll do all that we can to get you all the plants that you want, when you need them.
As both a grower and a plant broker, we’re ready to work with you to provide just the right Salvias or California-native plants that will make your project a success with your clients.
We can also provide an Estimate for one item or for an entire installation. Just attach your Microsoft Excel .xlsx plant list to our ONLINE ESTIMATE | ORDER FORM.
As Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Nurseries, Will Baldocchi focuses on operations management, sales, and how to improve the customer experience at Pacific Nurseries. He also continues a proud family tradition of helping Bay Area Landscape Professionals succeed with high-quality landscape material and great service. Email Will or give him a call at 650.755.2330.
