Carried by 28 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
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Dara's Choice Sage, botanically known as Salvia 'Dara's Choice', is a hybrid of Sonoma Sage (Salvia sonomensis) and Black Sage (Salvia mellifera). This evergreen plant is semi-deciduous in summer, reaching 1 to 2 feet in height and 3 to 6 feet in width. The small leaves are a rich green color and contrast well with the blue to lavender-blue flowers, blooming in the spring through early summer.
Dara's Choice Sage maintains its dense and solid foliage appearance, even after many years, making it useful to gardeners as a compact spreading ground cover or low mounding shrub. It is fast-growing and adaptable to different soils, from sandy, coarse-grained soil to clay. It prefers sun in coastal sites, and part sun or light afternoon shade in inland sites. Once established, it is drought adapted.
The fragrant flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators.
It was selected for the garden by horticulturalist Dara Emery, and in 1979 introduced by the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.
Shrub
1 - 2 ft Tall
3 - 6 ft Wide
Prostrate
Fast
Evergreen, Summer Semi-deciduous
Pleasant
Blue, Lavender
Summer, Spring
Bank stabilization, Groundcover
Full Sun, Partial Shade
Low
Max 1x / month once established
Easy
Tolerates cold to 15° F
Fast, Medium
Adaptable, including sandy, coarse-grained, and clay (with reticent irrigation).
Prune central upwards growth for a lower ground cover
Slopes, hillsides, canyons, bluffs, ridges.
Thanks to Moosa Creek Nursery and the Theodore Payne Foundation for sharing information about this plant