WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Salvia greggii ssp., cvs. & hybrids, WUCOLS IV

How often to water salvia in California

In July in the Central Valley, established salvia in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 3.0 gallons a week. This guide follows autumn sage, Salvia greggii and its hybrids, a twiggy shrub with flowers from late spring into fall. It can keep blooming through summer heat. Give it sun and draining soil, allowing drying between deep soakings rather than keeping the woody crown continually damp.

PerennialShrubUC Arboretum All-StarRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water salvia, month by month

Your city
Plant width
4 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for salvia and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 6 to 8 inches down beneath the branches signals that established autumn sage needs a deep soak
  • Foliage still dull and limp in the morning can indicate thirst when deeper soil is dry
  • Short flower spikes and a thinning shrub can accompany prolonged dryness but do not promise quick recovery after watering
  • Yellowing leaves and sparse flowers over wet ground can indicate excess irrigation, while sprawling stems can reflect shade or missed pruning
  • A dark, mushy stem base or collapse over wet soil warrants a root-rot and drainage check

How to water it

  • Apply water around the autumn sage root area with drip or a slow hose, keeping spray off its flowers
  • Moisten soil about 12 to 18 inches deep beneath established autumn sage, then check deeper moisture before another soaking
  • Use gravel or a thin bark layer while keeping mulch away from the crown
  • Use a mound or raised bed in heavy clay so water drains away from woody stem bases
  • Move emitters toward the outer branches as the autumn sage canopy widens

Through the seasons

Water a new autumn sage root ball deeply through its first summer, letting the top two inches dry between soakings as roots spread. Established shrubs need deeper checks and longer drying between applications. Foliage can remain through mild winters, while cold slows growth or browns leaves. Irrigation matters during late-spring through fall growth and flowering, including summer heat. Coastal and Central Valley rain can supply winter moisture; check desert soil during dry gaps. WUCOLS rates autumn sage low water on the north-central coast, in the Central Valley, on the south coast, in South Inland and in the high desert. It rates moderate water in the low desert.

In pots

Autumn sage in a container needs open drainage holes and mix that dries between soakings. Check the top two inches daily during California heat waves and less often in mild weather. Water when dry there, letting excess run from the holes, then empty the saucer. A crowded root ball can make moisture uneven, so check the center as well as the pot edge. In winter, allow deeper drying and shelter the pot if persistent rain keeps the crown area wet.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
1.07gal per sq ft in JulyLow water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
6.84 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.711.42.12.90.16JAN0.26FEB0.43MAR0.61APR0.83MAY0.99JUN1.07JUL0.95AUG0.72SEP0.47OCT0.22NOV0.14DEC0.711.42.12.90.16JFM0.61AMJ1.07JAS0.47OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 1.07 in Jul, 6.84 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Salvia: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.150.160.310.310.30.78
Feb0.210.260.320.350.370.93
Mar0.350.430.460.520.581.52
Apr0.470.610.560.640.761.95
May0.580.830.640.780.952.45
Jun0.640.990.690.921.142.79
Jul0.641.070.7911.222.85
Aug0.60.950.740.931.122.6
Sep0.50.720.60.740.862.08
Oct0.350.470.460.530.581.49
Nov0.190.220.330.360.370.96
Dec0.120.140.260.270.260.68
Year4.86.846.27.378.5121.08

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated low water in the Central Valley, like salvia. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

LavenderLavandula spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRosemaryRosmarinus officinalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAgapanthusAgapanthus orientalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyGeraniumsPelargonium x hortorum and cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyOlive TreesOlea europaea ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCrape MyrtleLagerstroemia spp., hybrids & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLantanaLantana camara ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyIrisesIris germanicalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySucculentsEcheveria spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRussian SagePerovskia spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyYarrowAchillea millefolium (non-native hybrids)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyMountain AlyssumAlyssum montanumlow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes salvia, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water salvia in summer?

In July, established salvia in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days in the Central Valley, about every 27 days on the south coast and about every 22 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does salvia need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established salvia needs about 0.4 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 1.7 gallons a day for a plant 8 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for salvia change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates salvia separately for each of the six California climate zones: low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, low water in the Central Valley zone, low water in the South Coastal zone, low water in the South Inland zone, low water in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, moderate water in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Why is my autumn sage sprawling?

Check for shade and an overdue cutback before changing water. Prune in late winter or early spring to healthy leafy growth, stopping short of bare old wood. Saturated soil can also encourage weak growth.

How do I water autumn sage after planting?

Check the nursery ball itself because its mix can dry sooner than the surrounding bed. Soak that ball and the nearby soil, then allow the upper layer to dry. Expand coverage as roots establish rather than using a fixed first-year schedule.

Why does my potted autumn sage wilt in damp mix?

Check whether the root ball is crowded and whether moisture reaches its center. Damp mix at the pot wall can hide a dry root mass. Inspect container space before simply increasing irrigation.

Can you overwater autumn sage?

Yes. Check emitters beneath autumn sage's low branches for leaks that keep its crown wet. Move outlets touching woody stems toward the outer rooted area.

Is autumn sage the sage used for cooking?

No. Culinary sage is a separate gray-leaved herb, while autumn sage is grown for ornamental flowers. These classes follow autumn sage and should not be transferred to kitchen sage.

More plant watering guides

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Sources