California native plants and insect problems

1. I recently purchased a Black Sage from Las Pilitas. I am a pretty seasoned gardener, but I am stumped on this one ...

After I planted the Sage, the new growth is just withering & dying ...plus, the leaves are showing some strange patterns. I included a photo of a leaf with the hope that somebody can identify what the problem is with my Sage. I am a Sage lover ...I don't want the plant to die.

2. Shall I just let them eat away at the Sage? will it eventually kill the
entire plant?

1. one of the butterflies found it and you have caterpillars(future butterflies)

2. should be no biggy, the winter rains were a bit much, as the plant hardens off, so will they

I would like to plant some milkweed for the monarch butterfly. We live close to the pimso beach eucalyptus grove so we see a great number of them flying around the yard.
We are Coastal Sage Scrub (very sandy with excellent drainage). I noticed none of the asclepias in your list have Coastal Sage Scrub as a community. Do you think any of the Asclepias would work in Coastal Sage Scrub? If so, which ones and do you have any? (I can pick up.)

Ascelpais fascularis was mowed down by four different generations of Monarchs in Los Osos in a year.

all my sages have aphids (leucophylla and clevelands mostly). Is it the rain? what should I do?

relax, they're growing like weeds, as they harden off the aphids will leave

We tend to get droves of tiny marching ants in late summer and fall, so, I'm afraid to add to their home building materials.

argentine ants, bait them if possible

Here is a picture of a caterpillar that is eating (decimating) all my monkey flowers and now is working on my Lonicera hispidula. I can't find any pictures of it online or in my books on butterflies. The birds are not coming to my rescue. Should I just let it finish them off or hand-pick and move them to my neighbors' yards (ha, ha!)?

Here is a picture of a caterpillar that is eating (decimating) all my monkey flowers and now is working on my Lonicera hispidula. I can't find any pictures of it online or in my books on butterflies. The birds are not coming to my rescue. Should I just let it finish them off or hand-pick and move them to my neighbors' yards (ha, ha!)?

I've just got to ask you one question about the laspilitas website while
I've got you here. I had Baccharis 'Pigeon Point' on my list at one point, and so read your notes on it. I don't understand how you can say in
the same breath that Baccharis is a source of nectar for predatory wasps, aka yellow jackets, and that you recommend planting it next to a sitting area. In my experience, yellow jackets are aggressive and extremely
annoying and I have literally been driven inside by them on multiple
occasions. I'm not sure I would knowingly plant anything to attract
them anywhere on my property, and certainly not near a sitting area.
Have I missed something?

yeap, you're thinking of the paper wasps, (not predatory wasps), they do not work the flowers, yellow jackets and meat wasps work fruit and meat (your food)

the native wasps and predatory wasps are too cool and you'd see as a very active brilliant colored small fly, until you look closer
unless you're full of pollen and nectar, no biggy, they do not 'see' you, the only time I've ever been stung is when I was trimming the flowers and crushed one, he was indigent, and showed his dislike for me
The little native wasps control aphids. and small insects
you'll also have(if you're lucky) all the small butterflies, fluttering everywhere

I have a terrible snail problem on my property and have tried various methods of preventing them from eating the mesquite, acacia and palo verde trees that I've planted.   I grew all of the trees from seed and innoculated the potting soil with mycorrhiza.  Sluggo snail bait contains iron phosphate which breaks down and goes into the soil.   Would you by any chance know if using Sluggo to protect my desert trees will cause any harm to them?   I would really appreciate any help you can give me.

small amounts of iron phosphate, used occasionally should be no problem, more than a teaspoon, per plant per year will become increasingly a problem.

Your horticulture is off and the 'mycorrhiza' doesn't help, is off, or is dead.