Sage

Sage offers you handsome evergreen foliage in the form of a small mounding shrub. Sage is perennial in most areas of the South and comes in colorful selections, including golden, green, white, variegated, tricolor, and purple sage. Not to be confused with flowering salvias, which are ornamental and also called sages, garden sage is used to flavor foods and is essential to many poultry and holiday recipes.

In the Landscape
Native to the Mediterranean, garden sage forms a sprawling shrub 8 to 36 inches tall and wide. Its velvety gray-green color blends well with the deeper greens of perennials or other herbs. Golden sage brightens the garden with yellow green leaves that are as striking as flowers; it is popular mixed into a flower or herb border. The darker shade of purple sage blends well with other Mediterranean herbs, such as purple basil, rosemary, or silver-leafed plants like artemisia.

Planting and Care
In Zone 7 and north, sage is a hardy perennial, its leaves lingering on the stems through the winter. But sage usually does not survive the hot, humid summers of Zone 8 and farther south and is grown as a cool-weather annual in these areas.

Sage needs full sun to partial shade. For quickest results, start with purchased transplants in spring or fall. Plant sage in well-drained, sandy soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.7. Add a slow-release fertilizer to the soil at planting, and fertilize each spring. Add sand along with organic matter to clay soil to improve drainage.

To grow transplants from seed, start indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost, and set out transplants when the ground is warm. Or sow seeds directly in the garden after danger of frost is past, planting them about 1/4 inch deep. Seedlings should appear in two to three weeks. When they are about 2 inches tall, thin to 18 to 24 inches. You can also root your stem cuttings in late spring to start your own transplants. Yet another way to propagate sage is to layer side branches.

The foliage of sage looks lifeless through winter and into spring, so prune plants each year in early spring cutting out the oldest growth to help stimulate new growth. In late spring, spikes of pinkish purple flowers will appear.

Sage also grows well in containers. Dig small plants from the garden or sow seeds directly in a container and place in full sun.