There is a different odor to native Southern California flora, and in the event that you can get far enough out into the native landscape, you will find a fragrance that exudes warmth and dryness. It is a fragrance I look everywhere for and you I connect closely with San Diego and also California native Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii). While all salvias add to a garden’s cologne, Cleveland sage produces a memory and a moment by itself, simply through its odor. Kathy Ormiston, of the University of California Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener program of Santa Clara County, compares it into chaparral in the daytime.
With reliable spring blooms and a maintenance regimen that basically requires it be forgotten, Cleveland blossom brings us straight back to the landscape that Californians are pleased to call home.
Edger Landscape Design
Botanical name: Salvia clevelandii
Common names: Cleveland sage, California blue sage
Resource: Native to Southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico
USDA zones: 8 to 11 (find your zone)
Water necessity: Low
Light requirement: Total sun
Mature size: 3 to 5 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide
Advantages and tolerances: Attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and bees; deer resistant; blossom flowers and foliage; drought tolerant
Seasonal interest: Blooms spring through summer
When to plant: Spring or autumn
John J. Kehoe Photography
Distinguishing traits. Salvias are known for their blooms, but there is something really special about these made by Cleveland sage. Evenly-spaced lavender whorls span 1 1/2- to 2-foot-long stems in spring. Complementing the flowers year-round are muted gray-green leaves.
Cleveland sage’s dimensions and odor most distinguish it one of the salvias; this really is among the larger and more commonly used species. ‘Winnifred Gilman’ is a popular cultivar, known for its more streamlined form and perhaps its even more intense flower color and natural odor.
How to use it. Cleveland sage can be grown in containers, however I have found it casually massed to greatest effect.
The flowers in addition to the leaves of Cleveland blossom are blossom, and will release their scent if brushed up against along a path or planter border. As one of the largest sages, it needs enough space for it to fill. Cleveland blossom is also a fire-wise plant.
Shown: With redhot lantana
UCCE Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County
Planting notes. Opt for a dry, sunny, well-drained site. While supplemental watering can help establish the plant, cut back on irrigation when it matures. Ormiston urges several deep waterings during summer. The foliage is obviously a glaucous gray, getting greener with more water.
Jenn Gray
After the flowers fade, leave seed heads to your birds, at least briefly. Eliminate older, woodier, dead-looking parts to encourage more and more fragrant flowers.
Whenever it is not the longest-lived plant, averaging 5 to 10 decades, Cleveland blossom is a California native definitely worth understanding.