Black Sage
Salvia mellifera
The most widespread California sage and a backbone of coastal sage scrub, its pale flower whorls yielding prized honey. Intensely aromatic and summer-deciduous in drought.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Type
- shrub
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 3–6 ft
- Spacing
- 3–8 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- April, May, June, July
- Bloom colors
- blue, purple
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, hummingbirds, butterflies
- Landscape uses
- hedge or screen, foundation, erosion control
- Native states
- CA
Related native plants
More Salvia species
- Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)
- Chia (Salvia columbariae)
- White Sage (Salvia apiana)
- Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea)
- Azure Blue Sage (Salvia azurea)
- Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea)