Fragrant foliage topped with lavender blue flowers from the end of spring to fall: common sage (Salvia officinalis) is grown as much for the kitchen as for its long-known medicinal properties. Give it full sun and light, well-drained soil, even poor soil, and the leaves reach their very best in terms of flavour.
| Name | Salvia officinalis |
|---|---|
| Family | Lamiaceae |
| Type | perennial or annual |
| Height | 12 to 48 in (30 to 120 cm) |
| Exposure | full sun |
| Soil | light, well-drained |
| Blooming | end of spring → fall |
| Harvest | year round |
There are a great many species of Salvia, over 900. Here is a focus on growing medicinal sage, the most common variety that grows in temperate climates.
You can plant sage starting in October and all the way to May-June, keeping a distance of 10 to 12 inches (25 to 30 cm) between plants.
Avoid planting sage in the summer during heat waves, the temperature would stress the plant and it might not take off after that.
If sowing from seed, sow annual sage during the month of March in a sheltered place.
Sage, if properly settled in, only requires little care and attention.
This plant copes well with having a lot of sun, but must be watered in case of elevated temperatures.
If growing it in pots, don’t wait for the soil to be completely dry before watering again; simply water often but in moderate amounts.
To sum it up, sage is a plant that is easy to grow and care for, and is perfect for all gardeners, from the beginner to the expert.
Sage can be harvested all year round depending on your needs, but the growth or vegetation phase is when leaves and flowers are most interesting in terms of flavor.
Sage is best collected in the morning during the vegetation phase, from spring up to the end of summer, but it is still fine when collected in the later hours of the day.
Wait for the plant to have grown quite a bunch of leaves before harvesting for the first time. Keep a few stems to propagate it through cuttings.
Dried sage leaves keep very well, they can last several months.
Very well defended against most diseases, sage actually is more of a repellent against certain kinds of insects and diseases that usually attack plants in the vegetable patch, such as the “large white” butterfly.
Sage is also said to be a great rodent repellent.
Rather than needing protection itself, sage protects its neighbours. Here is what its scent, or a spray made from its leaves, is credited with driving off.
| Pest or problem | What it usually attacks | How sage helps |
|---|---|---|
| “Large white” butterfly | Plants of the vegetable patch | Sage acts as a repellent against insects that attack the vegetable patch |
| Flea beetles | Turnip | Sage growing nearby tends to fend them off |
| Slugs and snails | Vegetable patch crops | The smell of sage disturbs them |
| Cabbage fly and downy mildew | Cabbage and potatoes | Spray of 3.5 oz (100 g) leaves per quart/litre of water |
| Rodents | The garden in general | Sage is said to be a great rodent repellent |
The smell of sage pervades the vegetable patch, which is why it earns a place between the crop rows as well as in the herb bed.
All common sages are grown in the same way, but their foliage, bulk and behaviour in the kitchen differ. Use the table to pick the one that suits your bed, pot or cooking.
| Variety | Leaf colour | Habit | Kitchen use | Flowering |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ‘Purpurascens’ (purple sage) | Dusky purple, greener with age | Medium, bushy | Full flavour, everyday cooking | Lavender blue, sparse |
| ‘Icterina’ (gold variegated sage) | Green splashed yellow | Low and spreading | Mild, good fresh | Rarely flowers |
| ‘Albiflora’ (white-flowered sage) | Plain grey-green | Medium, upright | Standard culinary sage | White |
| ‘Nana’ (dwarf sage) | Small grey-green | Dwarf, edging and boxes | Fine leaves for seasoning | Lavender blue |
| ‘Kew Gold’ | Almost wholly yellow | Dwarf, pot-sized | Light flavour, pick sparingly | Rarely flowers |
| ‘Tricolor’ | Grey-green, cream and pink-purple | Compact, less hardy | Mild, garnish and fresh leaves | Lavender blue, occasional |
| ‘Berggarten’ | Broad silver-grey | Low, dense mound | Large leaves, ideal for frying | Seldom flowers |
| ‘Extrakta’ | Plain grey-green | Medium, upright | High oil content, drying | Lavender blue |
Interesting sage varieties
There are many different medicinal sage varieties but they’re all grown the same way and share the same health benefits.
Here is a short, incomplete list of interesting varieties to grow in your garden.
– Salvia icterina – leaves mottled with yellow.
– Salvia tricolor – leaves are purple, green and white.
– Salvia purpurea – leaves are purple.
There are other edible sage varieties, too, like the clary sage (Salvia sclarea) which is full of flavor, often paired with meat. Its fragrance is sometimes used to make perfume.
There are very many sage species and varieties, and all differ in shape and color.
The name “Sage” comes from the Latin root salvia (to save) and the plant is known for its medicinal properties and its fragrant foliage.
Indeed, medicinal sage offers numerous therapeutic properties, such as being diuretic and tonic. These properties have been known to us since the Middle Ages, when the leaves and flowers were used in infusions and decoctions.
Also very ornamental and simply of a high value as a spice, this plant is also used simply to decorate the garden and cook delicious flavorful meals.
The flowers that are most often seen are lavender blue in color, but some varieties and species boast flowers of different hues.
These plants are great either in a flower bed or along edges, in a rocky pile or sand patch, and even fit right into a garden box on your balcony or terrace.
Flower your beds with plants of all colors, shapes and sizes!
