Hummingbird Sage
Salvia spathacea · Lamiaceae
- Form
- Perennial
- Height
- 1–3 ft
- Sun
- Part Shade
- Water
- Low
- Blooms
- Mar, Apr, May
- Habitat
- Oak Woodland · Chaparral
🌿 California native
Quick facts
- Habitat: Oak Woodland understory, shaded Chaparral edges
- Form / size: Rhizomatous perennial, 1–3 ft
- Sun: Part shade · Water: Low (takes some summer water)
- Blooms: Spring · Pollinator value: High (a hummingbird magnet)
Description
The shade-loving sage. It spreads by rhizomes to form a low colony of large, arrow-shaped, deeply textured leaves with a fruity-sweet scent, then sends up striking spikes of magenta-to-crimson flowers in whorls. One of the few showy natives that thrives in dry shade under oaks.
Wildlife & pollinators
Built for hummingbirds; also visited by native bees. Excellent groundcover habitat in shade.
Habitat & range
Coastal Oak Woodland and shaded canyon slopes of central and southern California.
In the garden
Invaluable for dry shade — under oaks, on the north side of a house, in woodland gardens. Tolerates more water than most sages, spreads to fill in, and lights up shade with hummingbird-pulling color.
Propagation
Very easy by division of the spreading rhizomes; also from seed. Divide in fall/winter.
Where to see it near you
- iNaturalist — observed in Orange County
- Shaded oak canyons.
Problems
Essentially trouble-free in shade; can spread further than expected (a feature for groundcover).
