How to grow Sage

Salvia officinalis · common sage, garden sage

An evergreen, semi-woody perennial with aromatic grey-green leaves, used fresh or dried in cooking. Hardy, and happiest in full sun and free-draining soil.

Quick facts

Type	Herb
Family	Lamiaceae
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	6–8
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for sowing	from 10 °C
Germination	14 days
Seedlings ready	35 days
Sowing to harvest	85 days
Where it grows	Greenhouse, Open ground, At home

When to plant

Sow for seedlings about 7 weeks before planting out.

It tolerates light frost: plant out in open ground about three weeks before your last spring frost.

In an unheated greenhouse everything moves about three weeks earlier.

The first harvest comes about 85 days after the shoots appear.

Frost dates · When to plant

Care

Greenhouse

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	18…21 °C	—
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 5 days	—	—
Flowering	every 5 days	—	—
Harvest	every 5 days	—	—

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	18…21 °C	—
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 7 days	—	—
Flowering	every 7 days	—	—
Harvest	every 7 days	—	—

At home

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Germination	every 2 days	18…21 °C	—
Seedlings	every 3 days	—	—
Growth	every 4 days	—	balanced (NPK), at the start of the stage
Flowering	every 4 days	—	—
Harvest	every 4 days	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Full sun, at least 6 hours a day; it tolerates part shade.

Soil

Free-draining soil that never gets waterlogged, pH 6–8; it grows even in poor soil. Good drainage is essential for it to survive the winter.

Care

Water young plants in dry spells during their first year; established plants in the ground are drought tolerant, and too much water rots the roots. Plants in the ground need no feeding; pot-grown plants get a general feed in late spring. Prune lightly in mid to late spring to keep plants bushy and trim off the faded flower stems; do not cut into old wood, which rarely regrows. Pick single leaves in the first year. Replace plants every 3–4 years when they turn woody.

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.