WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Salvia apiana, WUCOLS IV

How often to water white sage in California

In July in the Central Valley, established white sage 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. White sage is a California native evergreen shrub of dry, gravelly hillsides, from Santa Barbara County to northern Baja California. Its soft, aromatic leaves open gray-green and age to silvery white. In spring and summer, tall stems carry whorls of white flowers tinged lavender or pink that bees and hummingbirds love. It grows slowly to 3 to 5 feet tall and wider.

ShrubCalifornia nativeUC Arboretum All-StarRated for 6 of 6 zones

How often to water white sage, 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 white sage 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 a foot down in a young plant's first summer means it needs a deep soak
  • Leaves turning limp on a young plant during a long heat wave can signal thirst
  • Yellowing leaves and a blackening base after summer watering point to root rot
  • Mildew spots on leaves in still, crowded spots point to poor air circulation

How to water it

  • Water a young plant deeply and let the soil dry completely between soakings
  • Water rarely or not at all once established
  • Plant in full sun in fast-draining soil with open air around it
  • Keep drip lines and lawn sprinklers away from its roots
  • Trim it back in fall for a denser plant

Through the seasons

Water a new plant through its first summer, letting the soil dry between soakings. Once established, irrigate infrequently or not at all. It flowers in spring and summer, and fall is the time to trim it back. WUCOLS rates white sage very low water on the north-central coast and the south coast. In the Central Valley and South Inland, it carries a low water rating. The high desert and the low desert also carry a low water rating, though desert gardens need closer watching.

In pots

White sage can grow in a large, wide pot of fast-draining, gritty mix in full sun. Water when the mix is dry several inches down, then let all excess drain. In summer, check every few days, but water sparingly. Never leave it in a saucer of water. Keep the pot where air moves freely around the leaves. In winter, rain is usually enough, and soggy mix rots the roots.

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
0.300.610.921.20.16JAN0.26FEB0.43MAR0.61APR0.83MAY0.99JUN1.07JUL0.95AUG0.72SEP0.47OCT0.22NOV0.14DEC0.300.610.921.20.16JFM0.61AMJ1.07JAS0.47OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 1.07 in Jul, 6.84 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

White Sage: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.040.160.080.310.30.31
Feb0.050.260.080.350.370.37
Mar0.090.430.110.520.580.61
Apr0.120.610.140.640.760.78
May0.150.830.160.780.950.98
Jun0.160.990.170.921.141.12
Jul0.161.070.211.221.14
Aug0.150.950.190.931.121.04
Sep0.120.720.150.740.860.83
Oct0.090.470.110.530.580.6
Nov0.050.220.080.360.370.38
Dec0.030.140.070.270.260.27
Year1.26.841.557.378.518.43

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 white sage. 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 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 JulySalviaSalvia greggii ssp., cvs. & hybridslow 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 JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyWild PrivetLigustrum vulgarelow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCoralberrySymphoricarpos orbiculatus (SHADE)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBlue Leaf WattleAcacia salignalow 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 white sage, 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 white sage in summer?

In July, established white sage in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days in the Central Valley, about once a month or less 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 white sage need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established white sage 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 white sage change across California?

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

Does white sage need water in summer?

Once established, it needs little to no summer water. Summer watering can rot its roots. Young plants need occasional deep soaks.

Does white sage attract pollinators?

Yes, bees, including carpenter and bumble bees, and hummingbirds visit its flowers. The aromatic leaves discourage deer and rabbits. Plant it in a sunny wildlife garden.

Why is my white sage rotting?

Summer water and slow drainage rot its roots. Plant it in fast-draining soil. Keep sprinklers off it.

How do I prune white sage?

Trim it back in fall to promote a denser, more compact plant. Fall trimming also tidies spent flower stalks. Skip extra water afterward.

Does white sage hybridize with other sages?

Yes, it crosses naturally with black sage, purple sage and Cleveland sage. Seedlings may differ from the parent. Buy named plants for a known form.

More plant watering guides

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Sources