chia

Garden uses

Attracts

Notes

Chia (Salvia columbariae) is an annual for borders, low maintenance gardens, and xeriscapes. This plant likes full sun and dry, sandy or loamy soil. Tiny blue flowers form in balls along square stems. Bees love them, and the velvety leaves smell skunky. The seeds are ground into a meal called pinole, and chia flour is cooked into a gruel called atole.

Pairs well with California poppy, Brittlebush, and Blue grama.

Native range