Salvia clevelandii Winifred Gilman Cleveland Sage

Identification

Description

Salvia clevelandii Winifred Gilman" is an evergreen shrub with flowers lavender to blue. This Cleveland sage is native to dry slopes San Diego County. It likes sun and perfect drainage. The gray-green leaves have intense fragrance. All the Salvias are great hummingbird plants. Cold tolerant to about 10 deg. f.. It has managed to survive lower temperatures here but I had it against a 3' rock wall facing south situated in such a way that the cold flowed over it. Winifred Gilman flowers are stunning. The Salvia clevelandii fragrance carries for 20-50' on a warm night. Do not put it under your bedroom window unless you really love the smell of the wild west (or a herb garden according to your taste). No accounting for tastes, one customer complained that "that plant smelled so BAD' and another who comes by occasionally to beg for a stem or two for the cab of his truck cause it made the truck smell real good'. This sage is native in areas of low rainfall and has survived here on four inches of rainfall. It is stable in sand or gravel, fair in loam, unstable in clay (if it gets any water at all). If you live in an area of rainfall greater than 35 inches find a spot of pure sandy gravel. 'Winfred Gilman' is a nice form of Cleveland Sage that seems to be a little more garden and frost tolerant. Flower color and scent may even be more pronounced. ( It is not as tough as straight species in places like desert washes tough.) (The trade has this species mislabeled many times. Sometimes a hybrid called 'Allen Chickering' is labeled as this and sometimes this is labeled as 'Allen Chickering'.) If you're after the flowers but have clay or heavy frosts see Salvia clevelandii X 'Pozo Blue'. Click here for more about California Sages