Plants For Coastal Sage Scrub

Salvia brandegei with Penstemon spectablis - grid24_12
Salvia brandegei Brandegees Sage

Brandegee's sage, named after an early American botanist, is a beautiful sage with shimmering, blue flowers. It is an evergreen shrub that grows to 3 feet tall. Brandegee's sage likes full sun, dry c... Learn more.

Salvia carduacea, Thistle Sage flowers. - grid24_12
Salvia carduacea Thistle Sage

A very colorful annual of hot interior areas. We do not generally grow annuals. Here's a native sage page where you can see all the sages of California. Learn more.

A pale Swallowtail butterfly on a Salvia clevelandii alpine.  - grid24_12
Salvia clevelandii 'Alpine Cleveland sage' Musk Sage

A form of Salvia clevelandii that was found near the town of Alpine in San Diego County, and was introduced by Bert Wilson at Las Pilitas Nursery. The form attracted attention originally because i... Learn more.

This Sages has a really strong odor and nice flowers. - grid24_12
Salvia clevelandii 'Deer Springs' Cleveland Sage

Salvia clevelandii 'Deer Springs' is a Cleveland Sage from Northern San Diego County. It was collected from the Deers Springs area. A nice looking plant with nice blue flowers and a wonderful frangran... Learn more.

Salvia clevelandii, Winnifred Gilman has fragrant foliage and flowers. - grid24_12
Salvia clevelandii 'Winifred Gilman Cleveland Sage' Cleveland Sage

Salvia clevelandii, 'Winnifred Gilman' is an green sage with blue flowers set in whorls of lavender bracts. This form of Cleveland sage is native to dry slopes San Diego County (we would guess it h... Learn more.

Salvia columbariae, chia flowers. - grid24_12
Salvia columbariae Chia

A little annual sage that doesn't look like a sage. Not much scent but nice 1 inch flowers on a 1-2 foot plant. Native on the south slopes on rock or gravel. Chia grows commonly on disturbed soil. But... Learn more.

Purple Sage, Salvia leucophylla as a 30 year old bush. - grid24_12
Salvia leucophylla Purple Sage

Purple sage, Salvia leucophylla,  is a three to six foot evergreen shrub with flowers that are light purple in May-Jul.. Purple sage has leaves that are white tomentose(kinda fuzzy grey). This... Learn more.

Salvia leucophylla Point Sal, Low Purple sage with Ceanothus maritimus. - grid24_12
Salvia leucophylla 'Point Sal' Low Purple sage

Salvia Point Sal is a gray ground cover that generally grows 3-4 foot across and a few inches tall. BUT, there seems to be more than one flavor in the trade. It is supposed to be less than one foot t... Learn more.

Salvia mellifera, Black sage looking down on Las Pilitas Nursery. - grid24_12
Salvia mellifera Black Sage

Black Sage is a three foot evergreen shrub with white to light blue flowers from March to July. This sage is native to sunny dry slopes in the coast ranges from San Jose to Baja. It likes sun, tolera... Learn more.

Salvia mellifera repens, Black sage repens flowers - grid24_12
Salvia mellifera var. repens Creeping Black Sage

Salvia mellifera repens can be a relatively  flat fragrant shrub with dark green foliage and light blue flowers. In interior heat this black sage becomes a lower version of itself and  can get to be 6... Learn more.

Salvia munz, Munz sage - grid24_12
Salvia munzii San Diego Sage

San Diego sage is a small bush or sub-shrub that grows from two to three foot tall and a little wider that occurs down near the border with Mexico, in the worst conditions possible. This native to S... Learn more.

This creeping Sage has real different yellow sage flowers. - grid24_12
Salvia sonomensis 'Farmar-Bower' Golden Creeping Sage

Salvia sonomensis Farmar-Bower is a golden creeping sage that is a garden-tolerant perennial creamy yellow flowers. Apparently, this yellow flowered form is more common in the northern portions of t... Learn more.

Salvia spathacea, Las Pilitas, is a  flat ground cover plant  with a big flower. - grid24_12
Salvia spathacea 'Las Pilitas' Las Pilitas Hummingbird Sage

A Hummingbird Sage from the Las Pilitas area that was found growing under chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum) on a south-facing slope where there are winter springs and summer heat. Even though the expo... Learn more.

Salvia spathacea Powerline Pink, hummingbird sage - grid24_12
Salvia spathacea 'Powerline Pink' Giant Hummingbird Sage

'Powerline Pink' Hummingbird Sage has the largest flowers of any hummingbird sage we have ever grown. The flowers are so large they fall over if given too much shade along the coast. It does best in f... Learn more.

Salvia spathacea, Topanga flowers - grid24_12
Salvia spathacea 'Topanga' Los Angeles Hummingbird Sage

Many decades  ago we did a few plant sales at the Topanga RSCD office.  Exploring about we  found this Hummingbird Sage deep in the Santa Monica mountains west of Los Angeles. At the Santa Margarita n... Learn more.

Salvia munzii 'Emerald Cascade'

Emerald cascade is a small mounding Salvia munzii with green foliage and a blue flower. Emerald cascade looks like a layered bonzai of regular Salvia muzzii with few of the better qualities of Salvia ... Learn more.

Elderberry, Mexican Elderberry, Western Elderberry tree in flower - grid24_12
Sambucus mexicana Tapiro

Mexican elderberry or Tapiro,(Sambucus mexicana) is a deciduous shrub to tree with butter yellow flowers in Apr.-Aug. followed by purple berries in September-October. . This elderberry is native to... Learn more.

Satureja chandleri,  Shrubby Yerba Buena flowers - grid24_12
Satureja chandleri Shrubby Yerba Buena

San Miguel savory Satureja chandleri is an inch to foot high by 3 foot perennial with very fragrant foliage. With semi-regular water and shade this savory can be easily be kept a few inches tall and... Learn more.

Saxifraga californica, California Saxifrage - grid24_12
Saxifraga californica

A perennial, 1" white flowers on 1' stems, a north slope plant to include with ferns, excellent drainage. Learn more.

Scrophularia atrata, Bumble Bee Plant, or Black Figwort - grid24_12
Scrophularia atrata Bumble Bee Plant

Scrophularia atrata, Bumble Bee Plant, is a two to four foot perennial with three foot spikes of maroon 1/4-1/2" flowers that seems to be the place to be if you're a bumble bee or a butterfly. (Bu... Learn more.

Scrophularia californica,  California Figwort flowers - grid24_12
Scrophularia californica California Figwort

Scrophularia californica, California Figwort is a two to four foot perennial with three foot spikes of red flowers. It is native along the coast and southern Sierras, from L.A. to B.C.. It is not a... Learn more.

Senecio douglasii,  Butterweed overlooking the nursery - grid24_12
Senecio douglasii Butterweed

A two-three foot perennial with one-inch yellow daisies. It looks like a grey marguerite. It is useful in revegetation, bank stabilization, or in dryland gardens. Give sun and little or no water in mo... Learn more.

A close up of Sidalcea malviflora from the hills around San Luis Obispo. - grid24_12
Sidalcea malvaeflora Checkerbloom

This checker bloom is a perennial with a small cluster of leaves at its base and a 2-3ft. spike of 1 inch deep pink flowers. The stems are rather lax as it grows in perennial grass thickets in season... Learn more.

Sidalcea neomexicana, Checkers has a nice pink flower - grid24_12
Sidalcea neomexicana Checkers

Checkers, Sidalcea neomexicana, has a clump of dark green leaves six inches or so across producing two feet tall stems with many one inch wide mauve flowers. Wow, that was a long sentence, if that was... Learn more.

Sisyrinchium californicum, Yellow-eyed Grass can have brown or green stems. - grid24_12
Sisyrinchium californicum Yellow-eyed Grass

Sisyrinchium californicum, Yellow-Eyed Grass, is a small perennial about 8 inches tall that forms a little clump of iris leaves with bunches of yellow flowers that appear May through June. Yellow-Eyed... Learn more.