Why Did My California Sage Brush Lose Its Leaves?

Question

As of a month ago both my California sage brush lost its leaves completely. Looks dead. I cracked a thick piece and saw it’s still green on the inside Woody part. So I’m feeling like it’s probably alive. But I don’t know for certain. I get like it got too much water and maybe caused them to go deciduous.

Answer 1

It sounds like too much water. These are well suited for dryer climates, so any soil saturation for too long will lead to rot and dormancy in attempt to preserve itself.

Unfortunately, your photo did not come through, so I cannot assess the damage, but correcting watering habits and treating with a fungicide will help it to recover.

Since I do not know if you are referring to Artemesia or Salvia, which are both commonly called sages (they have very similar care), but I'll include some of our articles for both:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/salvia/mojave-sage-information.htm
Here are some articles that will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/salvia/mojave-sage-information.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/artemisia/sagebrush-plant-information.htm