Growing Sage . . . all you need to know about this herb

Two Wests & Elliott's Gardening Guide To Growing Sage

Growing sage has a number of benefits, from being able to use it fresh in meals, to it attracting wildlife into your garden and being an attractive, easy to grow shrub with evergreen leaves and pretty flowers. 

Sage will be a wonderful addition to your garden, can be planted directly in the ground, in raised beds, in borders, amongst crops at your allotment. It can also be grown in pots and containers, making it very versatile. Depending on the variety you chose, this evergreen shrub could have attractive flowers of pink, blue, purple or white and could feature variegated leaves.

When Growing Sage From Seed Which Varieties To Try
Growing sage can be done for two main reasons, you might want to grow it to use as a herb in your kitchen or you may want as an ornamental in your garden as it is an attractive evergreen. Depending on your reason will affect which variety you should grow.

Here are three varieties which you might want to try if you are growing sage to use as a herb:

Common Sage ‘Salvia officinalis’ – with one of the best, strongest flavours, this variety of sage will grow to a height and spread approx. 2ft. Sow in March to be ready to start picking in June the following year. It will start to become less productive and more woody after about 4 to 7 years so will need to be replaced at that time.  

Tricolour Sage ‘Salvia officinalis ‘Tricolour’’ – use fresh or dried in cooking, this variety is prized for its kaleidoscope of colours. It has strongly aromatic gray-green leaves featuring cream-white and pink streaks. Will grow to a height and spread of approx. 18in. It has pale blue flowers and makes an attractive plant in beds and borders.

Broad Leaved Sage ‘Salvia officinalis broad-leaved’– with an aromatic flavour it makes a great addition to many dishes. It has oval, soft grey-green leaves and can grow as big as 3ft wide and tall, although average height is about 20in.

Here are another three varieties which you might want to try if you are growing mainly as an attractive shrub in your garden:

Vatican White Sage ‘Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica’ – an attractive, impressive variety which has spikes of scented, showy white floral bracts. Flowers late spring through to summer and will grow up to 3ft high, 20in wide.

Silver Sage ‘Salvia argentea’ – usually grown for its very decorative foliage, this plant forms rosettes of large, silvery-grey leaves which are densely covered with long, soft, glistening, silver-white hairs which gives it a felt-like appearance. Growing up to 4ft high it has pinkish-white flowers which are edible.

Mealy Cup Sage ‘Salvia farinacea Victoria White’ – flowering from July through to October this is ideal for borders, growing to 2ft in height and featuring white spikes of flowers.

Growing Sage Under Cover / Indoors 
With so many varieties of sage to choose from, you might be disappointed to know that there are not many varieties which are available to buy as seeds – you really need to shop around to find some of the more uncommon types.

One of the reasons for this is that you need over a year from sowing the seed to having a plant from which you can start harvesting the leaves – that’s why you can often find sage for sale as small plants.

If you are prepared to have patience – and many gardeners are – then here are our recommendations when growing sage from seed.

You can start to sow sage seeds indoors – in your home or greenhouse – from March onwards – always check your seed packet to see the recommended sowing time for the variety you have chosen.

For the best results fill small pots or seed trays with good quality seed compost – ideally sieve your compost as it is added into the pots or trays as this ensures there are no ‘lumps’ which could cause the new roots to be pushed in different directions.

Before sowing the seeds use a sprayer to make the compost slightly moist. After sowing the seeds cover with either a fine layer of sieved compost or a thin layer of perlite.

To increase the temperature so that the seeds will germinate you could place the pots / seed trays in a heated propagator – you would want it to be set to reach between 15 to 20 degrees Celsius – or cover the pots with a clear plastic bag or the trays with a cover and place on a windowsill to get warmth and natural light. The seeds should take about three weeks to germinate.

You now need to let the seedlings grow until they are large enough to be handled, you can then transfer them into their own pots to be grown until they are about 4in tall, when you can start to harden them off ready to be transferred outdoors.

Transplanting Your Growing Sage Outdoors 
Sage can be grown directly in your garden, in raised beds or in containers (which need to be at least 12 inch in diameter) all it needs to remain healthy is 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight, well-draining soil and a soil pH of around 6.0 to 7.0. So, before planting out, check your soil to ensure you can provide these conditions as best you can:

• Check the pH with a soil testing kit or pH meter
• Dig in well-rotted manure or garden compost if planting directly in the ground
• For containers or raised beds use a peat-free, soil-based compost, ensuring good drainage by mixing in some coarse grit or perlite.

Growing Sage In Your Garden Will Attract Beneficial Visitors

When sage is in flower in your garden it will attract quite a few beneficial insects including:

Bees - good for pollination Butterflies – good for pollination Hoverflies – good at reducing aphid numbers on other plants. Sage is also disliked by certain pests, making it a good companion plant: Flea Beetles – grow alongside tomatoes Carrot rust flies – perfect amongst carrot crops Cabbage butterflies – ideal for growing near brassicas.

Protecting Your Growing Sage
Although a robust, hardy plant which should provide you with fresh leaves for years, there are some pests and diseases which can cause problems. Here are the common ones to watch out for:

Capsid Bugs – this 10mm long bug feeds on the plant sap, damaging the foliage and leaves and leaving behind tell-tale ‘holes’. These bugs will feed on sage as well as some ornamentals including hydrangeas and fuchsias. Their natural predators are hedgehogs, birds and beetles but ideally you need to check your sage plants in early spring to catch an infestation before it becomes serious.  

Sage and Ligurian Leafhoppers – sap sucking bugs these 3.5mm long leafhoppers like to feed on aromatic plants including sage, mint, lavender, basil, oregano etc. Active between may until Autumn they cause slight mottling on the upper surface of sage leaves but other than that don’t appear to damage the growth of the plants so no treatment is required.    

Powdery Mildrew – causing a white, dusty coating on leaves, stems and flowers, powdery mildew is a fungal disease which affects many edible and ornamental plants including sage. When the mildew first appears, it will look like dusty white spots on the upper surface of the leaves but if left untreated entire leaves can be covered with the fungus, leaves can drop and new growth deformed and the plant can die. Prevention is the cure with this disease – so planting the sage where it will get full sun, in soil with good drainage and has space to grow so there will be good air circulation. And if you see leaves starting to be affected by powdery mildew then remove the affected leaves or stems to try to stop it spreading and infecting the whole plant.
 
When Is It Time To Harvest Sage?
You can pick leaves from your growing sage plants at almost any time, although if you have grown sage from seed then it’s a good idea to not harvest in the first year – rather give the plant time to establish healthy roots and the plant develop a solid frame.

One thing to note when harvesting sage is that you will get the best flavour if you pick leaves before the plant flowers – after the plant flowers the leaves will normally lose some of their aroma. You can extend the harvesting time by picking off the buds as they appear on the plant to stop it from flowering.  

When harvesting herbs like sage, you could be harvesting to use it fresh or harvesting to dry the herb. This will affect how you should harvest sage. When picking to use fresh simply pick individual leaves as required. When harvesting sage leaves, although you can pick both young and mature leaves, it’s the younger ones which will have the better flavour. And ideally don’t simply strip the plant of leaves – you want the plant to continue to grow so always leave a few stalks alone so it can recover.

When harvesting sage with the intention of drying it you should cut off stems between 6 to 8in in length – using a sharp pair of snips or secateurs so you don’t damage the main plant.

Why Spend Time Growing Sage?
Sage has a strong, unique flavour which means it is usually used in small amounts. It is a member of the mint family, together with basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme.

Very high in vitamin K – this vitamin helps to make various proteins needed for blood clotting and building bones. Sage also contains vitamins A, C and E in smaller amounts.
Contains minerals – including magnesium, zinc and copper.
Calories – 119 per 100g, but remember this herb is used in small quantities.
Fat content – 5g per 100g
Protein content – 4g per 100g
Water content – 66g per 100g

This pungent herb is usually used in cooking where it can be used fresh, dried or ground. It can be used in traditional recipes like sage and onion stuffing, to make sage butter, as a garnish for soup etc.

Our growing sage guide has been created from our personal knowledge, information gathered by speaking to other gardeners or manufacturers in the gardening industry, by reading gardening magazines and devouring information from books and the internet. We aim to be as accurate as we can, so if you find a mistake, please remember, we’re only human. if you have any queries you can contact us today!