Sage
Where should you grow sage?
Clary sage thrives in warm and sunny conditions. It does best in well-drained, sandy soil. Sage can also be grown in clay soil, but there is a risk that it will rot or freeze during the winter. Sage survives the winter quite far up in Sweden once it has established itself. If you live far north, you may want to give it extra help during the winter by growing it in an elevated position, for example in a pallet collar.
Sage thrives in the open air, but also in pallet collars and pots. If you grow in a pot, make sure you use a sturdy one, as salvia tends to grow a lot. Sage is an excellent balcony plant.
Pre-cultivate sage
Sage is easy to propagate by cuttings (see below) but can also be sown from seed. Pre-cultivate indoors during the spring-winter.
Place the seeds in the sowing soil, moisten the soil and cover with a thin layer of soil or perlite. Facilitate moisture retention by covering the pots with plastic film with small holes in it. When the seedlings are a couple of centimetres high, transfer them to larger pots. The plants should now be kept in a bright, cool place and grow until spring.
Harden off and plant out when the risk of frost is over. Water regularly, but not too much – sage thrives on being fairly dry.
Propagate sage by cuttings
Once you have your sage plant in place, you’ll probably want more. The best time to take cuttings is during July and August, but it’s usually possible even earlier in the summer.
Trim or cut off one or more top shoots and remove the bottom pair of leaves. Then put in a pot with seed soil and keep moist. After a few weeks, the shoots will have rooted and you’ll have a new plant to put out in the garden.
Harvesting sage
Harvest by pinching off or cutting shoots – then the sage will be even more lush. In spring, the sage should be pruned and after that you should be a little careful about harvesting. Throughout the summer you should (and want to!) harvest continuously. Sage is also excellent for drying.
When everything seems grey and dreary and the garden looks like a dull muddy field, we can still enjoy the big, beautiful sage bush in the herb garden. When we see it, the spirit of life usually returns.
Sage in cooking
For a few years now, we’ve never made a plate of split potatoes without first picking a big bunch of sage to sprinkle on top. But don’t forget to add plenty of oil, so that the sage doesn’t burn.
A deliciously creamy salsiccia pasta is simply not the same without sage.
If you prefer to eat vegetarian (and cheap!), we recommend frying sage leaves in browned butter and then pouring over pasta – heavenly!
Author: Johanna Damm
Fact-checked by Erik Hoekstra
Last updated 2022-10-14