Grow and Care for Pitcher Sage

Grow pitcher sage in sun to part shade, in soil that drains, and ease off water once the roots are in. Pitcher sage is Lepechinia calycina, also sold as woodbalm.

Give it sun to part shade, soil that drains, and little water once it is set

Pitcher sage wants sun to part shade and a hole that drains after rain. [1] Pitcher sage is a California chaparral shrub with aromatic, hairy leaves and tubular white to pale-lavender flowers in mid-spring to early summer. Each flower sits in a cup-like calyx that starts green and ages reddish purple. Give it full sun on the coast and part shade inland, because inland afternoon sun can scorch the leaves. [2] Water it through the first year so the roots can take. After that, an occasional deep watering inland keeps the shrub green; on the coast it often needs almost no extra water. If you keep it completely dry in midsummer, it can drop leaves, then leaf out again when rain or a deep watering returns. Wet clay around the crown is the primary cause of root rot. [3] Hummingbirds work the flowers. Deer usually leave the foliage because it is strongly aromatic.

Plant in soil that drains, and water it the first year

Slide the root ball out and set the crown even with the surrounding soil, in a hole that drains after rain. Water it in, then water through the first year until the roots take. After that, ease off and let rain do most of the work.

1. Pick a sunny to part-shade bed that drains. Do not set it in a low wet clay hole.
2. Slide the nursery pot off. Set the crown even with the surrounding soil. Do not bury the stems.
3. Leave 6 to 8 feet so the shrub can fill in.
4. Water it in, then water through the first year. After the roots take, give an occasional deep watering inland, and almost none on the coast.

Prune in winter to keep a full shrub

Prune for shape in winter, after the flowers are long gone. Cut lanky stems back so the shrub stays full instead of opening into a few woody wands. Cut back as needed through the year if a branch is dead or in the way.

1. Wait until winter. Then cut lanky stems back to a side shoot so the shrub stays full.
2. Remove dead or damaged wood whenever you see it.
3. Do not shear it into a tight box unless you are using it as a screen, and even then leave enough leafy wood to carry the next flowers.

Soak seed in hot water, then keep it cold

Seed is the usual home start. Soak the seed in hot water, then keep it cold and moist for about three months. Fresh seed germinates more reliably than a packet that sat a year. [4]

1. Collect the small dark fruits when they dry, or buy seed. Use seed from the current season when you can.
2. Soak the seed in hot water for about 24 hours, then keep it cold and moist for about three months.
3. Sow on a mix of sand and peat that drains. Keep it barely moist, never soggy.
4. Move seedlings on while they are young. A mature shrub resents a later move.

Not a pitcher plant — and not garden sage

Pitcher sage is Lepechinia calycina, a California mint-family shrub. It is not a carnivorous pitcher plant. If the tag says pitcher plant, read How to Grow Pitcher Plant.

Shops sometimes list this shrub as California pitcher plant. That name belongs to Darlingtonia, a bog carnivore with tubular leaves. This plant has ordinary leaves and flowers with a cup-like calyx. Do not treat a California-pitcher-plant tag as pitcher sage unless the Latin says Lepechinia calycina.

It is also not garden sage. Salvia is a related mint, with a different flower and a different prune. If the tag says sage, read How to Grow Sage.

If the bed stays wet after rain, move the shrub to a slope that drains, and ease off water once the roots are in.