Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-587
Common Sage
Salvia officinalis
Common Sage is a small evergreen Mediterranean shrub grown for its leaves and flowers, used fresh or dried as a savory seasoning for rich, oily food and steeped as a digestive tea. It carries a long history of medicinal use for sore throats, excess sweating and menopausal symptoms, but taken in excess or over a long stretch it becomes genuinely toxic - restlessness, tremors and seizures are recorded, so it is avoided in pregnancy. It wants full sun and sharply drained, slightly alkaline ground; wet winter soil rots it faster than cold does. Despite being easy in a mild spring or fall, it often struggles through a long hot, humid summer and is short-lived even under good conditions, typically fading out after about four years.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun · Partial Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 4–8
- Soil
- Sand · Loam
- Moisture
- Dry · Well-Drained
Vertical layer
Shrub- Soil pH
- 6–8
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 12–30 in
- Mature spread
- 24–36 in
- Plant spacing
- 12–36 in
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- None
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The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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