If you are starting a list of plants to put in the ground this fall, you might want to add a salvia or two. With just under 1000 varieties, Salvia is the largest genus in the mint family (Lamiaceae). Commonly known as sages, Salvias come in a dizzying variety of forms and colors. Salvias can be evergreen or deciduous shrubs, or perennial, biennial, or annual flowering plants. Although their flowers are most commonly a shade of blue or purple, different species of sages also produce white, yellow, pink, red, or even bicolor blooms.
The characteristic of the genus Salvia that sets it apart from the rest of the mint family is the structure of its flowers. The stamens of these flowers form a lever and when a pollinator enters the flower, the lever causes the stamens to move and deposit pollen on the pollinator. When that pollinator enters another flower of the same species, the stigma of the flower is situated so that it brushes against the pollen on the pollinator's body, virtually guaranteeing pollination!
In addition to stunning flowers, the handsome, fragrant Salvia foliage ranges in color from various shades of green to pale grey. Additionally, many Salvias have an extended blooming season (some even lasting from spring through fall) and their flowers attract a wide variety of pollinators, including hummingbirds, butterflies and bees. Salvias also tolerate a wide variety of soils and many thrive in full sun, needing minimal water during our hot, dry summers. These plants are also low maintenance and relatively disease and pest free. A final, but certainly not insignificant plus for these plants is that they are generally deer resistant. Apparently, the chemicals that give Salvia leaves their distinct, minty odor have a disagreeable taste, and the result is that deer rarely graze on them. What's not to like about these tough, attractive plants?
Several Salvia species are on display at the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden at the Patrick Ranch Museum. Popular Salvias found at the Demonstration Garden include: Black and Blue Sage (Salvia guarnitica), Creeping Sage (S. sonomensis), Hummingbird Sage (S. spathacea), Autumn Sage (S. greggii) and Cleveland Sage (S. clevelandii).
Black and Blue Sage has intense, deep blue flower petals with an almost black calyx (the leaf-like structure at the base of the flower); it blooms from summer through fall. Found in the Butte All Stars section of the Demonstration Garden, it grows to a height of three to five feet, has light green leaves, and will grow in full sun or partial shade. Although S. guarnitica prefers moderate irrigation, it can tolerate dry conditions. It is a perennial in the valley and foothills, but is treated as an annual in areas where winter temperatures regularly drop below 20° F.
Creeping Sage and ‘Bee's Bliss' Salvia are similar groundcovers. Both are found in the California Native section of the Demonstration Garden. These evergreen perennials reach a height of four to six inches, and a single plant can spread 12 feet or more. Their foliage is a pleasing silver-green. They produce a profusion of blue-violet flower spikes from spring to early summer. These plants are moderately drought tolerant and will grow in full or partial sun.
Autumn Sage may be one of the few plants that is best known by its scientific name, Salvia greggii. This plant blooms from early summer through fall and flowers of S. greggii are usually some form of red, but can also be bicolor, white, pink, rose, purple and or orange. It is an evergreen perennial, but can be winter dormant in colder areas. It grows two to three feet tall and as wide. Like many Salvias, Autumn Sage thrives in full sun and requires very little water. There are several examples of S. greggii in the Demonstration Garden.
Cleveland Sage is a popular woody shrub that has small hairy grey-green leaves. According to the Calscape website of the California Native Plant society, some consider Cleveland Sage to have the “most pleasantly fragrant foliage of any Salvia.” The Native Plant section of our Demonstration Garden contains the cultivar Salvia clevelandii ‘Winifred Gilman', which has round clusters of intense violet-blue flowers that appear from late spring through summer. Cleveland Sage reaches a height of three to four and a half feet, usually growing twice as wide as it is high. It prefers an exposure in full sun or part shade and requires no summer water once it is established.
Many of these salvias will be available for purchase at the Master Gardeners Fall 2021 Plant Sale. The sale will be held on October 30, from 9am to 1pm at the Demonstration Garden at Patrick Ranch. Along with the Plant Sale, there will be two workshops: “Gardening with Natives” at 10am, and “Berry and Grape Gardening” at 11am. No registration is required for the outdoor workshops; Covid safety protocols will be followed.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area, visit our website.If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu (preferred) or call (530) 538-7201.
By Susanne von Rosenberg, UC Master Gardener of Napa County
One of the challenges many gardeners face is how to make shady spots look good. Fortunately, many beautiful, flowering native plants thrive in shade.
When you are planning your shade garden, analyze what kind of shade you're dealing with. Is it deep, all-day shade, such as in a redwood or pine forest? Do you have full shade for part of the day from a fence or other structure, and then sun the rest of the day? Perhaps you have dappled shade from leafy trees with loose foliage or a trellis?
Different plants are appropriate for each type of shade. Also, do you have dry or moist shade? If your shady area has moist soil, you have the most choices. Even if you have dry shade, though, as many of us do, there are lovely, colorful choices.
Native plants suitable for shady areas range from low-growing ground covers to understory trees, such as dogwoods, that can grow up to 15 feet tall. Some are even deer resistant. To expand your options in dry shade areas, you can provide drip irrigation for plants needing some supplemental water. It's also a good idea to mulch your shade garden toward the end of the rainy season to retain as much soil moisture as possible.
For ground covers for dry areas, consider coyote mint (Monardella villosa) and hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea). Coyote mint grows one to two feet tall and has a light minty fragrance with light purple globe-shaped flowers. Butterfly mint bush (Monardella subglabra) has deeper purple flowers. Hummingbird sage ranges in height from a few inches tall to those with flower spikes six feet tall. The flowers are typically red or pink.
Wild ginger (Asarum caudatum) and wood strawberries (Fragaria californica) are more suited to moist areas, but both can do well in dryer areas with a little supplemental water. Wood strawberry plants grow four to eight inches tall. The fruits are small but delicious. Wild ginger benefits from a rinse every so often in summer to simulate the fog drip of its native coastal forest habitat. Wild ginger has heart-shaped dark green leaves and unusual flowers. It has a light ginger-like fragrance, and reportedly the roots can be used as ginger.
Yerba buena (Satureja douglasii) has similar growing requirements to wild ginger. It grows four to eight inches tall and has small white flowers. It is lightly fragrant and makes a lovely herbal tea. Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay was named for its large areas of Satureja douglasii.
Many native bushy plants are adapted to shade. California monkeyflower, many currants and gooseberries (Ribes spp.) and cream bush (Holodiscus discolor) are all great choices. There are two genuses of California monkeyflower\s, diplacus and mimulus. Diplacus species are adapted to dry rocky slopes and therefore drought tolerant. Mimulus species are adapted to moist locations and need consistent moisture. Both come in a range of blossom colors, including yellow, white and red.
Our native ribes include species that flower in white, pink, yellow, and maroon with white. With sufficient water, ribes plants will grow between five and eight feet tall. I have a golden (yellow-flowered) and a pink-flowered currant bush in my yard. They bloom in spring and are gorgeous. The fruit is edible.
Ribes are summer-deciduous, meaning that if they do not get enough water, they will shed their leaves in the summer. You can plant them 10 to 15 feet from an irrigated area, and that will supply enough water to let them keep their leaves.
Cream bush (also called ocean spray and California spiraea) grows up to 6 feet tall and has beautiful 5-inch-long clusters of white flowers. I've added it to my list of plants to try. The growing notes caution that it has a lovely fragrance from 20 to 30 feet away, but that it smells like “old newspapers” close up. While I'm still trying to puzzle out how this is possible, I would definitely follow the recommendation to plant it 20 or more feet away from your house and garden areas you hang out in.
Finally consider native honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) and California pipevine (Aristolochia californica) for flowering vines for a shady area. California honeysuckles are not aggressive and like to grow into and through other bushes. There are species adapted to both moist and dry areas and different shades of flowers. Without support, California honeysuckle acts like a groundcover. Pipevine is deciduous and fairly drought tolerant (but can also tolerate moist soils). It has very unusual flowers that are about 1 inch long and shaped like a small pipe. Larva of pipevine swallowtail butterflies live on this vine.
Before you decide to plant any of these plants in your garden, review the growing requirements to make sure they're a good fit for what you have in mind. With a little research, you will find many other options as well.
Food Growing Forum: Second Sunday of the month through November. Sunday, February 14, 3 pm to 4 pm: “Seed Starting.” Register to get Zoom link: https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=32602
Napa Library Talks: First Thursday of each month. Thursday, March 4: “Composting at Home.” Register to get Zoom link. https://ucanr.edu/survey/survey.cfm?surveynumber=32577
Got Garden Questions? Contact our Help Desk. The team is working remotely so please submit your questions through our diagnosis form, sending any photos to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org or leave a detailed message at 707- 253-4143. A Master Gardener will get back to you by phone or email.
For more information visit http://napamg.ucanr.edu or find us on Facebook or Instagram, UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
By Brent McGhie, UC Master Gardener of Butte County, September 21, 2018
As members of the mint family, all Salvia flowers are two lipped (bilabiate) and commonly arranged in dense spikes. Salvia leaves are usually found in pairs opposite one another on square stems, but the leaves may also be arranged singly on the stems of shrub species of Salvia. Salvia foliage is aromatic, giving off a mint-like odor when crushed. Sages of the genus Salvia should not be confused with sagebrush (Artemesia), which has none of these characteristics and is a member of the sunflower family (Asteraceae).
The characteristic of the genus Salvia that sets it apart from the rest of the mint family is the structure of its flowers. The stamens of these flowers form a lever and when a pollinator enters the flower, the lever causes the stamens to move and deposit pollen on the pollinator. When that pollinator enters another flower of the same species, the stigma of the flower is situated so that it brushes against the pollen on the pollinator's body, virtually guaranteeing pollination!
Several Salvia species are on display at the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden at the Patrick Ranch Museum (located at 10381 Midway between Chico and Durham). Popular Salvias found at the Demonstration Garden include: Black and Blue Sage (Salvia guarnitica), Creeping Sage (S. sonomensis), Hummingbird Sage (S. spathacea), Autumn Sage (S. greggii) and Cleveland Sage (S. clevelandii).
Creeping Sage and ‘Bee's Bliss' Salvia are similar groundcovers. Both are found in the California Native section of the Demonstration Garden. These evergreen perennials reach a height of four to six inches, and a single plant can spread 12 feet or more. Their foliage is a pleasing silver-green. They produce a profusion of blue-violet flower spikes from spring to early summer. These plants are moderately drought tolerant and will grow in full or partial sun.
Autumn Sage may be one of the few plants that is best known by its scientific name, Salvia greggii. This plant blooms from early summer through fall and flowers of S. greggii are usually some form of red, but can also be bicolor, white, pink, rose, purple and or orange. It is an evergreen perennial, but can be winter dormant in colder areas. It grows two to three feet tall and as wide. Like many Salvias, Autumn Sage thrives in full sun and requires very little water. There are several examples of S. greggii in the Demonstration Garden.
If you decide to include Salvias in your garden, they do best if they are planted in early fall. This gives the plants time to establish a healthy root system before they have to contend with the hot days of summer. They can also be planted in spring, but will need more attention & watering during the summer months. If you want more information about Salvias or any other garden topic, contact the UC Master Gardeners of Butte County by phoning our Hotline (530-538-720l), or visit our web page at: http://ucanr.edu/sites/bcmg/
As the rain subsides and the weather warms, spring finally become visible on the horizon. That means our time to get into the garden is drawing near.
Many of us, however, are looking at our winter-ravaged gardens and wondering where to start. If you have been braving the elements to tend your garden, you will probably be thrilled to begin spring garden duties. For the rest of us, however, spring garden prep can be daunting.
Where to begin? In our little garden, my wife and I will start with cleaning up leaves and other debris. This will not only improve the aesthetics, but it will also have a dramatic effect on the garden's health and on pest management. While a thick layer of leaves can act as compost, it also provides a cozy living space for snails and slugs, rodents, insects and fungus. During cleanup, we can also look for any problem areas or damaged plants that need attention.
Next up is everyone's favorite chore: weeding. Don't put this off. It is important to pull weeds before they go to seed and become an even bigger problem.
Then it is time to plan any new plantings. Planting in wet soil is not recommended, so check now for areas that may have drainage issues. Overly saturated soil will look black and have a rotten odor. If you find such a spot in your garden, leave it bare and let the sun evaporate some of the excess moisture. During any upcoming rainy periods, cover the area with plastic sheeting to prevent the problem from worsening. Remove the plastic on sunny days to let the water continue to evaporate.
Should your soil feel dry (unlikely given the amount of rain we've had) or at an acceptable hydration level, cover with a layer of compost or mulch. This material will improve moisture retention through the summer and improve soil tilth and biotic health. Good mulching practices can make a world of difference when it comes time to dig that tough Napa soil.
If you are planning to plant vegetables, early February is the perfect time to get some of them started. Broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, kale, peppers, onion, peas, lettuce and tomatoes will all benefit from an early start inside your home or greenhouse. Sowing times vary by variety, so be sure to follow the instructions on the seed packet.
If you don't have a seed-starting tray and warming mat, consider investing in one. The extra warmth can reduce germination time considerably. When you are not starting seedlings, you can also use the kit to improve your results for any cuttings you want to propagate.
Thinking of adding some ornamental plants but not sure which ones to choose? Consider California natives. The benefits are myriad, but to me, their best attribute is the low amount of care they require once established.
Plants adapted to the regional climate are generally more drought tolerant, making them an easy choice for low-maintenance landscaping. Some personal favorites include the Matilija poppy (Romneya trichocalyx) and Ceonothus ‘Dark Star' (also called California lilac). Both have attractive flowers that enhance any garden.
Should you wish to attract hummingbirds, I recommend California fuchsia (Epilobium canum), scarlet monkey flower (Mimulus cardinalis) and hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea). The blooms of the California fuchsia persist well past those of many other flowering plants and can be relied upon to add a splash of vibrant red to a fall landscape.
Finally, don't let this winter's wet weather fool you into thinking that drought is a thing of the past. Southern California is still considered to be in drought conditions. Ground-water levels across the state continue to be a concern, and 2016 was the hottest year on record. Designing a water-wise garden is not only socially and environmentally responsible but will also certainly pay off in lower utility bills.
Proper plant choice, garden design and irrigation use can maximize your garden's beauty while minimizing your effort and expense. If you are interested in making such changes to your garden but need more information, call or e-mail the Master Gardener help desk. The volunteers there can help find answers to any questions you have.
Workshop: U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County will host a workshop on “Growing Summer Vegetables” on Saturday, March 11, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. Learn what the garden needs to successfully produce spring and summer vegetables from seeds and seedlings. The workshop will cover soil types and preparation, temperature essentials, watering, fertilizing and harvesting, with a dash of integrated pest management. Online registration (credit card only); Mail-in registration (check only or drop off cash payment).
Garden Forum: Join the U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County at a forum for home gardeners on Sunday, March 12, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, Yountville. Bring any questions about anything in the home garden. Questions about fertilizing, watering, planting, plant care, diseases and pests, tools and tool care or nursery purchases are welcome. Register with Yountville Parks & Recreation or contact 707-944-8712.
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. U. C. Master Gardeners of Napa County ( http://ucanr.edu/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
- Author: Mary B. Gabbard
This past Saturday with the temperature hovering near 95 degrees, I was able to complete all my errands without breaking a sweat, thanks to a very effective air conditioner in my Honda CRV. Pulling into my my driveway, I was reminded by my wilting garden, that a Honda air conditioner can only do so much. A quick check of my sprinklers revealed they weren’t working, and hadn’t been on all week. (So much for the 16 year old son as the gardener,... what do they say? “You get what you pay for...”) Anyways, what does this mean to a gardener, well, a full day of hand watering. I actually don’t mind this because it gives me a chance to see what’s going on in my garden, as well as providing some much needed “me” time. Today, as I sprayed my Hummingbird Sage (Salvia spathacea), up popped a Praying Mantis! These are my favorite insects! They have triangular-shaped heads with a compound eye on each side.
The Praying Mantis is the only insect that can turn their head a full 180 degrees. They are named for their front legs, which are bent and held together as if they are praying.
The one I saw today, was brown, although on other watering-days, (my sprinklers break a lot), I have seen beautiful green mantis. A mantis is considered a predator that will eat all kinds of insects, good and bad. Most unfortunate recipients of unwanted mantis attention are moths, crickets, grasshoppers and flies. I also search for the egg case of the Praying Mantis when I water. Females regularly lay hundreds of eggs in a small case that is typically attached to woody stems, tree branches, or as in my yard, under the eaves.
Very cool!