06/05/2026
Friday’ Featured Flower:
Sage.
While some gardeners differentiate between sage and salvia in a garden, these two plants are actually the same plant.
The name salvia is the genus name that includes all sage and salvia plants, is the largest genus of plants in the sage family Lamiaceae, with nearly 1000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and annuals. 🤯
💡Its common names include culinary sage, common garden sage, or garden sage. The word “sage” has come to mean “wise” or “a wise or learned person.” It's scientific name, Salvia, means “to be in good health”, “to save”, or “salvation”.
🌱When you include sage in your herb garden, you have a flourishing and attractive herb that will grow readily to provide a bountiful sage harvest. As your sage plant grows throughout the growing season, deadhead it to keep it producing more leaves.
Sage is a woody perennial plant classified as a subshrub. The older it gets the thicker and woodier the stems get. New growth has supple stems, but older growth is stiff. Sage plants should be replaced every three to four years so that there are enough productive stems to prune and harvest.
Sage actively grows during the summer and becomes dormant in cold regions during the winter. In warm climates, sage is pruned year-round to use in culinary dishes, but it appreciates a rest during the winter when it does not produce as much.
Most Salvia species are low-maintenance, hardy, and drought-resistant. They are an ideal choice for gardens that require little care.
☀️ Full sun
💦 Water sage weekly, cutting back slightly in cooler or wetter weather and letting the soil surface dry out between waterings. Water in the morning or during the day and avoid letting water splash onto the leaves to help avoid mildew and other diseases.
Pruning:
✂️Pinch back the sage plant during its first growing season after planting. Use your thumb and forefinger to snip off the growing tips of the sage's branches. This encourages a more dense, multi-branched shrub and more prolific flowering.
✂️ Prune the sage in the spring of its third year and fourth year in the spring. This helps keep the plant from becoming too woody. Woody plants don't produce as much foliage and blossoms. Measure a third of the plant's branch, starting from its growing tip.
✂️ Identify a leaf node nearest the 1/3 mark. A leaf node is the bump on the branch where leaves sprout. Cut off the end of the branch just past the leaf node. New foliage will sprout from the node, helping to keep the sage productive and growing strong.
Pro Tip: Make any trims or cuttings in the early morning when the plant is strongest and least susceptible to stress.
🌱 Remember that despite all your best trimming efforts, sage plants will gradually cease being productive and will need to be dug out and replaced with new plants every three to five years.
✌️ Companion Flowers: Lavender, H**e, petunias, Purple Coneflower, Phlox, Black Eyed Susan just to name a few.
🦋Not only is sage deer resistant, sage is highly attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds when it flowers from midsummer through fall.
Happy Gardening.
