Rick,

I'm not sure how happy it is in a container, but I've grown this for many years in the ground. This is a native (southern) California salvia that has two sets of leaves during the year--larger leaves for winter growth and bloom period, then smaller leaves for the 6 months of summer drought. Other California salvias such as S. leucophylla also use this strategy to deal with the dry summer. The spring leaf drop is normal.

The blooms are not spectacular, but as a large shrub, it really is quite beautiful en masse. I wait til the flowers are done (and gather some seed), then prune back to new growth on the stem--usually the first vigorous upward growing branch (and if you don't have any of those yet, just prune off the flower tips and it will stimulate branching). It is a very large somewhat rangy shrub, so will get woody at the base over time. Definitely don't cut back into bare wood.

This shrub also gets no summer water in habitat (nor in my garden). If you do water it in summer, it tends to get very vegetative and floppy, and probably shortens its life. I suspect if you put it in a very dry sunny location and provide it no water in the summer (though if you transplant now, you would probably need to give it some) and no fertilizer at all, it will perform wonderfully for you.

David

Great info, I have just the spot for it.

Thanks
Rick