Plant A Native California
White Sage In Your Garden

Join Roger’s Gardens and the California Native Plant Society as we add over 2,000 native White Sage plants to Orange County gardens. White sage, also known as ‘Sacred Sage’, is important to local Indigenous Peoples, but is being illegally poached from our wild lands.

It is Water-Wise, a magnet for pollinators, supports wildlife,
and grows in every part of the county.

Local Sages with a Spotlight on White Sage		Cultural Uses
A dozen species of Salvia sage are native to Southern California. They are beneficial to bees and hummingbirds as well as having value to other birds (seed eating, insect gleaning), several moths and their caterpillars, and more wildlife. Most local sages require minimal water to survive. Some sages are key components of local vegetation communities - for example Coastal Sage Scrub that is greatly reduced in area due to human land uses. Several sages and their hybrids are used in gardens. WHITE SAGE, Salvia apiana, has all the positive Salvia features mentioned above. It is aromatic, easy to grow, drought tolerant, wildlife benefiting, and changes through the seasons. It is native to Southern California and Northern Baja California. It grows NOWHERE else in the wild. | SIZE: 3-6 ft tall x 4-6 ft spread. FLOWER SEASON: May-July. SUN: Full. WATER: Low.		Indigenous Communities have used and still use sages for food, medicine, and ceremonial purposes. Locally recognized cultures are the Acjachemen and Tongva. One ceremonial practice is "smudging" that uses the burning of sacred herbs to cleanse or purify. Many types of herbs and plant parts have been used across the Americas and beyond. In southern California and northern Baja California, local White Sage became a principal smudging herb. Unexpectedly, smudging has grown into a worldwide fad. Media and sales sources minimize the actual cultural significance. They present only White Sage and ignore other smudge plant options. This has led to unsustainable, illegal harvesting from our local wildlands that is further destructing coastal sage scrub ecosystems.

Protecting White Sage
YOU CAN HELP DO grow your own native sage for nature benefits, low water use, and potentially other uses. DO be intrigued by and respectful of varied cultural practices. Be wary of media and sales channels that present misleading, whitewashed stories. DO buy white sage plants from reputable local nurseries. DO NOT buy "wild-sourced" white sage products including smudge bundles, incense, and oils.

Plant Give-Away Locations and Events		Planting and Care for White Sage
Free plants in 4" pots to OC residents! One per household while supplies last. • Oct 15 Sat – SmartScape Expo, Laguna Beach • Nov 9 Wed – Movie "Saging the World", CNPS OC, Mission Viejo • Nov - Winter – Roger's Gardens, Newport Beach. Plants arrive in batches. • Nov 12 Sat – Sage Festival, Tree of Life Nursery, San Juan Capistrano/Ortega Hwy • Nov 19 Sat – Ecology Center, San Juan Capistrano • Nov 26 Sat - Environmental Nature Center, Newport Beach • Jan 21 Sat – Orange Home Grown, Orange • Jan 28 Sat – Heritage Garden • Feb 22 Wed – Laguna Beach Garden Club, Monarchs and Gardens		1. Dig a hole twice the width of the pot. 2. Fill the hole with water and let it drain. Repeat one more time. 3. Gently remove the plant from the pot and place it in the muddy hole, slightly higher than the surrounding soil level. 4. Backfill around the plant with garden soil. Press the backfilled soil around the plant firmly to remove air pockets. Do not add fertilizer or amendments. 5. Water your new while sage very deeply, at least one gallon. 6. Place a rock near the plant and mulch with a 2" inch layer of leaves or bark. 7. After the sage is installed, water 1-2 times a week until winter rains arrive. 8 Once the sage is established, water once a month at most. Establishment can take six months to a year after planting – the plant will triple in size. As the plants gets larger, reduce watering frequency. Hope for winter rain. SEASONS: Winter leaves are fresh light green. Spring stalks shoot upward surrounded by white flowers. Hummingbirds and bees love these flowers. In early summer, leaves turn gray-white. Seed foraging birds visit. By late summer, leaves decrease in size and some will fall. Early to mid autumn is the best time to prune extended flower stalks back to the main shrub form.

More Sages and Companion Plants for Your Garden		Calscape
Companion plants for White Sage are species found in coastal sage scrub, inland sage scrub, and chaparral communities. High nature-value garden plants include: • California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum): Must have evergreen shrub. • Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia): Small for yards. Oaks are nature treasures. • Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii): Popular garden sage from San Diego County. • Black Sage (Salvia mellifera): Most common sage in California. • Thick Leaf Ceanothus (Ceanothus crassifolius): Butterflies, bees, birds, beetles... • Narrow Leaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis): Larval host for saving Monarch Butterflies!		Looking for a quick way to explore sages, their companion plants, more California Native Plants, where to find them, how to care for them, and widlife they attract? Visit The Calscape.org Website

Local Sages with a Spotlight on White Sage

A dozen species of Salvia sage are native to Southern California. They are beneficial to bees and hummingbirds as well as having value to other birds (seed eating, insect gleaning), several moths and their caterpillars, and more wildlife. Most local sages require minimal water to survive. Some sages are key components of local vegetation communities - for example Coastal Sage Scrub that is greatly reduced in area due to human land uses. Several sages and their hybrids are used in gardens. WHITE SAGE, Salvia apiana, has all the positive Salvia features mentioned above. It is aromatic, easy to grow, drought tolerant, wildlife benefiting, and changes through the seasons. It is native to Southern California and Northern Baja California. It grows NOWHERE else in the wild. | SIZE: 3-6 ft tall x 4-6 ft spread. FLOWER SEASON: May-July. SUN: Full. WATER: Low.

Cultural Uses

Indigenous Communities have used and still use sages for food, medicine, and ceremonial purposes. Locally recognized cultures are the Acjachemen and Tongva. One ceremonial practice is "smudging" that uses the burning of sacred herbs to cleanse or purify. Many types of herbs and plant parts have been used across the Americas and beyond. In southern California and northern Baja California, local White Sage became a principal smudging herb. Unexpectedly, smudging has grown into a worldwide fad. Media and sales sources minimize the actual cultural significance. They present only White Sage and ignore other smudge plant options. This has led to unsustainable, illegal harvesting from our local wildlands that is further destructing coastal sage scrub ecosystems.

Protecting White Sage
YOU CAN HELP DO grow your own native sage for nature benefits, low water use, and potentially other uses. DO be intrigued by and respectful of varied cultural practices. Be wary of media and sales channels that present misleading, whitewashed stories. DO buy white sage plants from reputable local nurseries. DO NOT buy "wild-sourced" white sage products including smudge bundles, incense, and oils.

Plant Give-Away Locations and Events

Free plants in 4" pots to OC residents! One per household while supplies last. • Oct 15 Sat – SmartScape Expo, Laguna Beach • Nov 9 Wed – Movie "Saging the World", CNPS OC, Mission Viejo • Nov - Winter – Roger's Gardens, Newport Beach. Plants arrive in batches. • Nov 12 Sat – Sage Festival, Tree of Life Nursery, San Juan Capistrano/Ortega Hwy • Nov 19 Sat – Ecology Center, San Juan Capistrano • Nov 26 Sat - Environmental Nature Center, Newport Beach • Jan 21 Sat – Orange Home Grown, Orange • Jan 28 Sat – Heritage Garden • Feb 22 Wed – Laguna Beach Garden Club, Monarchs and Gardens

Planting and Care for White Sage

1. Dig a hole twice the width of the pot. 2. Fill the hole with water and let it drain. Repeat one more time. 3. Gently remove the plant from the pot and place it in the muddy hole, slightly higher than the surrounding soil level. 4. Backfill around the plant with garden soil. Press the backfilled soil around the plant firmly to remove air pockets. Do not add fertilizer or amendments. 5. Water your new while sage very deeply, at least one gallon. 6. Place a rock near the plant and mulch with a 2" inch layer of leaves or bark. 7. After the sage is installed, water 1-2 times a week until winter rains arrive. 8 Once the sage is established, water once a month at most. Establishment can take six months to a year after planting – the plant will triple in size. As the plants gets larger, reduce watering frequency. Hope for winter rain. SEASONS: Winter leaves are fresh light green. Spring stalks shoot upward surrounded by white flowers. Hummingbirds and bees love these flowers. In early summer, leaves turn gray-white. Seed foraging birds visit. By late summer, leaves decrease in size and some will fall. Early to mid autumn is the best time to prune extended flower stalks back to the main shrub form.

More Sages and Companion Plants for Your Garden

Companion plants for White Sage are species found in coastal sage scrub, inland sage scrub, and chaparral communities. High nature-value garden plants include: • California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum): Must have evergreen shrub. • Scrub Oak (Quercus berberidifolia): Small for yards. Oaks are nature treasures. • Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii): Popular garden sage from San Diego County. • Black Sage (Salvia mellifera): Most common sage in California. • Thick Leaf Ceanothus (Ceanothus crassifolius): Butterflies, bees, birds, beetles... • Narrow Leaf Milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis): Larval host for saving Monarch Butterflies!

Calscape

Looking for a quick way to explore sages, their companion plants, more California Native Plants, where to find them, how to care for them, and widlife they attract? Visit The Calscape.org Website