Thistle Sage
Salvia carduacea
Thistle sage, and one of the strangest natives on the list: prickly, thistle-like grey foliage under tiered woolly white heads, out of which open fringed lavender flowers with orange anthers. Strictly a dry-sand annual — sow in autumn and give it no summer water.
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Type
- wildflower
- Lifespan
- annual
- Height
- 0.5–2 ft
- Spacing
- 0.5–1.2 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral
- Bloom
- March, April, May, June
- Bloom colors
- purple
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, butterflies
- Landscape uses
- naturalizing
- Native states
- CA
Related native plants
More Salvia species
- Lyre-leaf Sage (Salvia lyrata)
- Black Sage (Salvia mellifera)
- Chia (Salvia columbariae)
- White Sage (Salvia apiana)
- Mealycup Sage (Salvia farinacea)
- Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea)