Grow Your Own Sage Plant

This beautiful herb with its velvety gray-green leaves is surprisingly easy to grow in the garden. Sage comes from the Lamiaceae family, or mint family, alongside beautiful draping herbs like oregano and rosemary, and other bushy herbs like basil and thyme.

Here's what's really interesting—and the reason you'll definitely want to grow sage in your garden: Sage gets that heavenly earthy smell from compounds like cineole and camphor. Why does that matter?

Well, these compounds actually disrupt the sensory receptors in insects. That means sage can deter pests like mosquitos, flea beetles, cabbage moths, snails, slugs, and even squash vine borers. If you're growing vegetables that are susceptible to any of these pests (read: pretty much everything in your vegetable garden), you'll definitely want to plant some sage.

Sage also has tons of benefits for you (more on that in a bit)!

Here's how to grow and harvest sage.

Is sage a perennial?

Sage is a perennial herb. It's hardy all the way down to zone 4, so heavy snow and frost won't kill this herb. Your plants will die back during the coldest months of the year and then return from their roots in the spring. If you've got a milder winter, your sage will continue to grow and produce leaves all throughout the season.

If you'd like to keep your sage plant productive during your cold season, consider overwintering it indoors.

Sage Growing Conditions

Unless you live in the Mediterranean region, sage is not native to your area. So your main job is to recreate an environment that feels like home to your sage plant by growing it under its ideal conditions. But don't worry—sage plants are pretty forgiving if you don't get it quite right.

Season

The best time to plant sage is during the cooler days of spring (you can even start a couple of weeks prior to your final frost date) or in the fall. Just make sure your plants can spend 6 to 8 weeks in the garden before experiencing extreme temps so they'll have time to get established first.

Sage can withstand hot summer days. This is when it might produce the prettiest light pink or purple sage flowers that attract pollinators and contain hidden treasure once they dry: more and more seeds!

Sunlight

Sage prefers plenty of sunlight, which makes sense when you consider it originated in the Mediterranean. However, your sage will continue to grow even if it receives less than 6 hours of direct sunlight per day—your leaves just might not be as flavorful. In extremely hot weather, sage prefers a bit of afternoon shade.

Site

You can grow sage in a raised garden bed, a container, or even right in the ground. Sage doesn't like to sit in water for long. Raised beds filled with sandy loam soil rich in organic matter provide ideal drainage for happy sage roots. If you're growing sage in the ground, amend the top 6 inches of your native soil with coarse sand and compost to improve drainage.

How to Grow Sage in a Container Garden

Sage does well in containers that are at least 6 inches deep. If you pick something that's also at least 12 inches wide, you can grow sage alongside other Lamiaceae herbs like rosemary, oregano, and thyme. These herbs thrive together, even when you pack 'em in.

Make sure your container is food-safe and has good drainage holes in the bottom. You don't want the roots of your sage plant to be sitting in water. Before filling the container, put some weed barrier cloth or burlap in the bottom to keep the soil from leaving the container through the holes every time you water. Fill your container with a mix of potting soil, coarse sand, and compost.

Now you have a great setup that'll keep your plant healthy and be easy to move indoors during a freeze. Learn more about setting up an herb garden.

How to Source Your Sage Plant

You have three options to bring sage into your garden. You can start stage from seed, purchase a starter plant, or root a cutting from a mature sage plant.

Start sage from seed

Sage seeds are a little bigger than some of the other herb seeds, so they're easy to plant. They also tend to sprout quickly.

You can start sage seeds indoors under grow lights, or you can plant seeds directly in the garden if the conditions are optimal. (Watch me start sage by seed indoors in this video.)

Cover your sage seeds lightly with soil. Just a couple seeds will be enough to fill your herb garden with loads and loads of fresh sage.

Buy a Sage Plant from Your Local Nursery

If you're already experiencing cool or warm weather in your area, you can maximize the time you'll be able to enjoy sage in your garden by purchasing a plant from a local nursery or grower. Your transplant will already be grown to a healthy size in a container and have a strong start.

Buying herbs is more expensive than starting them from seed, but your sage plants will spend years in your garden and give you tons of harvests. I always consider buying perennial herbs worth the investment.

Sage grows wide like a small shrub, so be sure to give your herb a little bit of room to spread out when you're planting it.

Root Sage from a Cutting

Sage can be grown through propagation, meaning you can take a cutting from a mature sage herb and encourage that cutting to grow roots to become its own plant. Ask friends, family members, or even friendly neighbors if you can take a small cutting from their sage plant to make a new plant. Most gardeners are more than happy to share. You can also try propagating sage from organic, freshly cut herbs from the grocery store—though you're less likely to find success this way.

Once you see the first roots forming, allow 4 to 6 weeks before the cuttings are rooted enough to be ready to plant. Then, factor in another 4 to 6 weeks before the rooted sage herb has grown enough to be ready to harvest. 

Sage Plant Care

Sage is fairly easy to keep alive throughout the growing season. Once it's established in your garden, it's drought-tolerant (think of a dry Mediterranean hillside). It really just needs a minimum of care and attention.

Keep the soil around your herb plant clear of dead leaves and debris, where pests like to hide. Sage is rarely affected by pests, but this is a good practice for your herb garden overall. If your plant develops any yellowed or discolored leaves, prune them.

Even with the best of care and consistent pruning (or harvesting, in other words), sage can become woody after growing in your garden for a couple of years. When it no longer produces the volume of leaves you desire, dig it up and start fresh with a new plant.

How to Water Sage

Sage is drought-tolerant but does best in slightly moist soil. Water sage plants once the top inch of soil has become dry. As always, avoiding getting water on the leaves of your plants if you're watering by hand.

How to Fertilize Sage

Herbs grown in rich soil don't really need much else to keep them happy. That's why I recommend adding some compost to your container or raised beds before planting sage. If you feel like your plants need a little boost, you can add an organic fertilizer high in nitrogen. Add this liquid fertilizer when you're watering or spritz the leaves. I typically just sprinkle some earthworm castings around my herb garden every quarter.

What should you do when sage flowers?

Unlike soft herbs like cilantro and dill, the flavor of your sage leaves won't change when the plant produces flowers. Sage's pretty little pink and purple flowers will attract tons of beneficial insects to your garden, so I recommend leaving them.

How to Harvest Sage

Sage has only a modest growth rate. If you start from seed, you're looking at around 75 days in the garden before sage leaves are ready to be harvested. You'll know your plant is ready once it has produced 5 to 10 main stems.

Use your fingers to pick individual leaves or a clean pair of scissors or pruners to trim sprigs from the outside of the plant. As a general rule of thumb, never harvest or prune more than a third of the plant at one time.

Expect to cut from your sage plant weekly. The more you cut, the more you encourage your plant to produce delicious leaves for you.

How to Dry Sage

Leaves can be used fresh or hung upside down to dry. To dry sage, cut the stems just above a leaf node, strip the stem of the bottom few leaves, and tie several stems together with twine to hang upside down in a cool, dry, somewhat dark place for 2 to 3 weeks. Remove dried leaves from their stems and store in a jar until you're ready to use them.

During the warmer months, when your sage plants are in peak production, I recommend taking double harvests. Use half fresh and then dry the other half to create a supply of sage for the winter months. That way, you'll never have to buy sage from the grocery store again!

How to Enjoy Sage

Sage is useful for so much more than cleansing your space. I love to chop fresh sage leaves and toss them onto soups, roasts, tomato sauces, and omelets. In the colder months, sage pairs perfectly with butternut squash. You could also make your own sage butter. A little bit of fresh sage goes a long way.

Dried sage leaves are a key component in dry herb rubs for meats and veggies (think herbes de Provence). Mix dried and crushed sage leaves with coarse and fine salt to make your own sage salt.

Another great way to use up herbs from your garden (and enjoy all their nutrients and benefits) is to make your own teas (technically tisanes, which sounds fancier anyways). Sage tea is said to do everything from boost your memory to help with hot flashes and night sweats. It can also relieve sore throats.

How to Make Sage Tea

• Mix 1 teaspoon dried or 1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves with boiling water.
• Steep for 3 to 5 minutes.
• Strain and serve with lemon or honey to taste.

Sage Benefits

Herbs in the mint family have tons of benefits, and sage is no exception. Sage has vitamin K, plus small amounts of magnesium, zinc, copper, and vitamins A, C, and E. It's also filled with antioxidants, which can help you fight free radicals linked to chronic disease, and it has antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antiviral effects. Some studies in animals showed sage to have anticancer and neuroprotective effects.

Traditionally, sage has been used for everything from preserving processed foods to helping ease symptoms of menopause.

Time to Grow Your Own Sage Leaves!

Sage is a beautiful and fragrant herb to grow in your garden. We always recommend starting with herbs if you're just getting into gardening, and sage is a wonderful plant to begin with.

By following these tips, you'll be able to harvest enough leaves to use half fresh immediately and save half for non-growing seasons. Here's to creating your own supply of delicious leaves year round!

Sources

Healthline

National Library of Medicine

Science Direct