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Yerba Buena ("Good Herb")

Yerba Buena ("Good Herb")

SATUREJA douglasii

Blooms Summer
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Ships as 4"
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Common Name(s)
Yerba Buena ("Good Herb")
Sunlight
Full Shade (0-3 hrs) or Partial Sun / Shade (3-6 hrs)
Watering
Keep moist
Max Height
6"–1'
Max Spread
Over 24"
Special Features
California Native, Great for hanging baskets, Ground cover
Garden Design Role
Ground cover
Bloom Season
Summer
Fruiting Season
Spring, Summer, Fall
Lifespan
Perennial
Growing Habit
Ground cover
Drought Resistance
Moderate drought resistance
Bloom Color
Purple, White
Foliage Color
Green, Purple/Black
Stem Color
Green, Purple/Black
Genus
Satureja
Family
Lamiaceae
Ship Size
4"

Yerba Buena threads small scalloped leaves along slim trailing stems that root as they run, building a low evergreen mat that releases a clean mint scent whenever you brush it. Small white-to-purple flowers follow in summer. It arrives as a live 4-inch plant.

Satureja douglasii — you will also see it listed as Clinopodium douglasii — is the California native for the shady ground nothing else wants: under oaks, along a north-facing path, down a bank in filtered light. Stems travel three to six feet while staying ankle-high, and the same habit makes it spill softly over the edge of a hanging basket or container. Keep it lightly moist and it needs almost nothing else.

Fun fact: San Francisco was called Yerba Buena before it was called San Francisco — the settlement took its name from this very plant, which carpeted the hillsides above the bay.

  • Sunlight: Full Shade (0-3 hrs) or Partial Sun / Shade (3-6 hrs)
  • Water: Keep moist
  • Mature Size: 6"–1' tall × over 24" wide
  • Bloom Season: Summer
  • Fruiting Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
  • Lifespan: Perennial in zones 7–10 — grown as an annual in colder zones
  • Hardiness Zones: 7–10
  • Special: California Native, Great for hanging baskets, Ground cover

A tough, quiet native that arrives healthy — or we replace it free.