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| Munz' sage (Salvia munzii) in Mother Nature's Backyard garden |
January
can be an interesting month in Southern California gardens. Sometimes the weather is cold and rainy –
almost continually. And sometimes we
have periods of almost summer-like conditions.
This January is starting out to be a warm one. Much to our surprise, the earliest blooming
of our sages, Salvia munzii, is
already flowering.
Munz’
Sage, also known as San Diego sage and San Miguel Mountain sage, is endemic to
the San Miguel Mountains in southernmost San Diego County and bordering northern Baja California, Mexico.
This region, which includes the well-known Otay Mountain, is home to many
interesting plants known for their drought tolerance. Munz’ sage grows in both the Chaparral (higher elevations) and Diegan Sage Scrub plant
communities. Because it occurs in such a limited region,
the California Native Plant Society has placed Munz’ sage on its Rare and
Endangered Plants list (listed as ‘fairly
endangered in California’ due to limited range and possible threats to habitat).
Munz’ sage was named in honor of Philip Alexander Munz
(1892-1974), professor of botany at Pomona College and researcher at the Rancho
Santa Ana Botanic Garden. He is best
known for his books including A Flora of Southern California and a
popular series of wildflower books (California Mountain Wildflowers, California
Desert Wildflowers, California Spring Wildflowers and Shore
Wildflowers of California, Oregon and Washington). These books are still
treasured by plant lovers, even though the original editions have long been out
of print. The University of California
Press has released revised editions of these classics in the past decade.
Munz’
sage is a Salvia (Sage), a genus that includes many aromatic plants. Salvia
is the largest genus in the mint family, with over a thousand species
world-wide. At least 17 Salvia species are native to California,
many to the southern part of the state. The genus name derives from the Latin salvere (to heal or be healthy), alluding to the healing properties
of the genus. Salvias are prized as
ornamental plants - or for their culinary and medicinal properties - in gardens
throughout the world.
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| Salvia munzii: growth habit |
Among
the California shrubby Salvias, Munz’ sage is one of the more petite. In our experience it rarely grows to more
than 3-4 ft tall and wide, though some growers (primarily those from moister
climates) list it as growing to 6 feet.
In its growth form, Salvia munzii most closely resembles the
Cleveland Sage (Salvia clevelandii), another native with a nice, mounded
shape and rather slender, open branches. While
sometimes described as similar to Black sage (Salvia mellifera), in our
eyes Munz’ sage appears quite delicate compared to the robust – even chunky –
appearance of Black sage. The bark of younger stems is red –
also like Cleveland sage – becoming gray with age.
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| Munz' sage (Salvia munzii): spring leaves |
The
leaves of Munz’ sage are smaller than other local sages (~ 1 inch or less) and medium green to gray-green in color (see
above). Like many sages, the leaves are mostly
oblong to lance-shaped. They have a
crinkled ‘pebbly’ surface (like Black sage) and are very aromatic. The scent is probably closest to that of
Cleveland sage – with perhaps a hint of Black sage thrown in for good
measure. In our opinion, Munz’ sage has
the nicest scent/flavor of any of the California sages. Fresh or dried, we use it routinely as a
seasoning herb and in potpourri, sachets etc.
In fact, one of the more compelling reasons to grow it is to have a ready
source of the aromatic leaves.
In
addition to the straight species, several cultivars are available from native
plant nurseries. The cultivar Salvia
munzii
'Baja Blue' has lovely lavender
flowers and is garden hardy. It grows to
3-6 ft. tall and wide. Salvia
munzii 'Emerald Cascade' is
a short cultivar (1-3 ft tall) with a mounding growth habit (to 4-5 ft
wide). It was also selected for its
ability to grow well in local gardens.
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| Salvia munzii in Spring |
Like
other local Sages, Salvia munzii
produces two sets of leaves a year. The
larger, greener ‘wet season leaves’ (above) are produced in winter/early
spring. As the plants dry out in early
summer, they drop the wet season leaves - alarming the first time you see it in
your garden! They then produce a set of
smaller, grayer leaves to get them through the summer and fall (see
below). You can delay the summer leaf
drop by giving the plants a little summer water. But ultimately native Salvias need to dry
out. So learn to treasure their
different – but lovely – appearance in fall.
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| Salvia munzii in fall |
Munz’
sage is the earliest blooming Salvia in our garden, often by several months. The species begins flowering as early as
February in lower S. California elevations and may continue until April or
so. This year, the first blooms appeared
in late December, surprising us all. Were
it not for the visits of eager hummingbirds, we might have missed the early
flowers entirely.
The flowers
of Salvia munzii are
characteristic of the genus - and of the Mint family in general. Flowers are small, tubular (formed from fused
petals) with distinctive ‘lips’ (see below).
The flowers are arranged in ball-like whorls around the upright
flowering stems. In Mother Nature’s
Backyard, the flowering stalks are significantly taller than the foliage. When the plants are mature they should be
showy indeed!
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| Munz' sage (Salvia munzii): flowers |
The
flowers are a clear pale blue or violet – occasionally almost white – and
sweetly scented. They are similar in
appearance to those of Black sage, but smaller and usually more brightly
colored (Black sage flowers are often almost white, at least locally). Hummingbirds
are frequent visitors, but butterflies, bees and other insects
also collect nectar from the flowers. Pollination is probably due to the
actions of hummingbirds and large bees. Songbirds,
lizards and other small wildlife use the shrubs for cover. All things considered, Salvia
munzii is a fairly good habitat
plant.
Munz’
Sage is one of the easier native Salvias to include in a home garden. It likes full sun, but does fine with a
little shade. In Mother Nature’s
Backyard, the area is rather shady in winter, but quite sunny in summer, when
the sun is higher in the sky. While it
likes a well-drained soil, Munz’ sage can be grown in soils from sandy to
clay. If you’re worried about drainage,
plant it on a low berm (1 ft. high is adequate) to increase the drainage.
Like
other native S. California Salvias, Salvia munzii is drought tolerant. It can
take quite dry conditions (water perhaps once a summer) if you don’t mind the
dry appearance. It does, however, hail
from a region that gets occasional summer rain, in the form of the summer
monsoons. So it can take a little summer
water, making it easier to garden with than the truly dry species like White sage.
After
the first summer, we recommend occasional summer water – perhaps once every 3-4
weeks in sandy soils or several times per summer in clays. Be sure to water deeply and let the ground
dry out (to at least 4-6 inches below the surface) between waterings. Taper off the water in September to give
plants a dormant period. This water regimen
provides a good compromise between garden aesthetics and plant health. If you water more frequently, you’ll likely
shorten your salvia’s life.
Local
Salvias look their best with a yearly pruning, beginning with the first fall
(in other words, after at least 6-9 months in the ground). Some prefer
to prune soon after Salvias complete their blooming – often in late spring or
summer. This encourages
Salvias to produce a second, fall flowering, which may be desired. But we
delay pruning until late fall for several reasons. First, birds can eat the seeds if seed
capsules are left on the plant. Second, you
avoid plant stress by pruning during the cooler weather.
A
third, practical reason involves the pruning itself; if you wait until plants
begin to re-leaf in late fall/early winter it’s easier to remove just the right
amount. The aim is to prune back enough to control shape, but not so much that you’re
cutting back into the older, non-sprouting wood. It’s important to prune each branch back to a
point that retains 3-4 sets of new leaves.
Delaying pruning until plants are just
beginning to re-leaf makes pruning Salvias easy. And if
you live in S. California, there will always be a dry spell in November/December
that’s perfect for pruning Salvias.
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Salvia munzii (Munz' sage) blooming in Mother Nature's
Backyard garden: Gardena, California - 2014 |
Munz’
sage is a lovely addition to the sustainable S. California garden. It provides early flowers, a nice shape and
interesting foliage. Its small size makes
it appropriate for sites that can’t accommodate the larger native Salvias. This is probably also the best native sage to grow in
a large pot.
Munz’
sage does fine on sunny slopes and looks lovely planted with other Salvias and native
buckwheats. It’s a good habitat plant and a great addition
to scented and culinary gardens. The
only word of caution applies to those whose gardens are within two miles of stands
of native Salvias. Salvias, including
Munz’ sage and many others, interbreed between species, producing hybrid plants. If you live within bee’s flight distance of
native Salvias, the California Native plant Society recommends planting only the local native species and,
ideally, those produced from local seed sources. That’s the responsible – and sustainable –
thing to do.
