Salvia officinalis
Sauge Sage Salvia Salbei
Crop Rotation Group :Miscellaneous
Soil :Any average, well drained soil enriched with compost.
Position : Full sun.
Frost tolerant : Hardy only to about 15 degrees F, though winter protection can help. In cold winter areas, small plants can be potted up in fall and grown through winter indoors.
Companionage
Helps: brassicas, rosemary, cabbage, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, strawberry, tomato, marjoram
Avoid: any member of the allium family and common rue
Attracts: honeybees, cabbage butterfly
Repels: cabbage flies, carrot fly, black flea beetle, cabbage looper, cabbage maggot, repels many bean parasites
Plantation
Sow and Plant :Start with a purchased plant, or start seeds indoors in early spring. Plants started from seed may not bloom their first year.
Germination: days
Spacing :Single Plants: 11″ (30cm) each way; Rows: 11″ (30cm) with 1′ 3″ (40cm) row gap
Feeding : Drench plants with a water soluble organic plant food one month after setting them out.
Harvesting :Gather sprigs as needed in the kitchen. Gather stems for drying from spring to fall.
Time to harvest: days
Troubleshooting :Plants are often short-lived, so root a few stem cuttings each spring to always have vigorous young plants.
Notes :One-year-old plants nursed through winter produce beautiful blue flowers. Sage grown in containers can be kept in a cold garage through winter.