Sage Plant (Salvia officinalis)
Sage, conjointly referred to as common sage or garden sage, aromatic herb of the family Lamiaceae cultivated for its pungent leaves. Salvia officinalis is native to the Mediterranean region and is used fresh or dried as a flavourer in several foods, significantly in stuffings for poultry and pork and in sausages. Some varieties also are adult as ornamentals for his or her enticing leaves and flowers. Many alternative species of the genus Salvia also are called sage.
Salvia officinalis may be a perennial plant and grows concerning sixty cm (2 feet) tall. The oval leaves square measure rough or wrinkled and typically downy; the color ranges from gray-green to whitish inexperienced, and a few varieties are varicolored. The flowers are borne in spikes and have cannular two-lipped corollas that square measure enticing to a spread of pollinators, as well as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The flowers will be purple, pink, white, or red and turn out nut fruits.
Growing Sage plants
Planting garden sage seeds needs patience, as sage seeds are slow to germinate. Scatter the seeds overseed beginning soil and canopy them with 1/8 in. (3.2 mm) of soil. Keep the soil damp however not soaked. Not all the seeds can germinate and also the ones that do could take up to 6 weeks to germinate.
More normally, sage is grown up from cuttings. Within the spring, take softwood cuttings from a mature sage plant. Dip the cut tip of the cutting in maturation endocrine, then insert into potting soil. Cowl with clear plastic and confine indirect daylight till new growth seems on the cutting. At this point, you’ll plant the sage out into your garden.
Sunlight
Garden sage will do best in medium to full sun. It may also move in containers or inside – simply make sure it’s close to a sunny window if you’re growing it within. Sage desires six to eight hours of full sun daily. If your sunny window doesn’t give this abundant daily sun, use fluorescent lighting once growing Salvia officinalis inside. It will grow in the partial shade however not in complete shade. It needs access to daylight therefore on maintain its flavor.
Watering
Be sure to water the young plants often till they’re full-grown so they don’t dry out. They’ll want a regular wet offer till they begin growing quickly. For the primary few weeks, you’ll likely have to be compelled to water sage once or doubly per week. The soil ought to be unbroken concerning as damp as a wrung-out sponge.
Once the plant has developed a decent scheme, you’ll be able to decrease watering to each week or 2. Watch out to not overwater because the plant does not appreciate soaked soil.
Soil
It prefers a pH scale between 6.0 and 7.0. Sage grows best in rich clay loam with an adequate supply of available nitrogen. It’ll tolerate a good vary of soil conditions, however, particularly if they’re well-draining and made in nitrogen.
Fertilizer
Fertilize the primary year solely with low-nitrogen plant food. Once you are getting ready for the soil for planting, work 5-10-10 plant food into the soil at the rate of 0.5 a pound per a hundred sq. feet. Sage plants do not need a lot of plant food. Over-fertilizing makes the plant grow quicker however they need a weaker flavor, defeating the aim of growing it. Once or double per annum is enough for mature plants. Plant your Salvia officinalis with different compatible herbs and vegetables.
How to Pruning garden sage
Pruning when flowering can keep plants engaging and forestall them from obtaining too woody and leggy. Pruning your sage plant ought to be wiped out the first spring. Prune the significant, woody stems to encourage new, healthy growth, and you may conjointly get a healthier-looking plant. Sage and different suffrutex plants ought to ne’er be decreased to the bottom. Sage plants ought to ne’er be cropped in fall or winter as a result of new growth is probably going to be broken or killed throughout cold periods. The Salvia officinalis can have to be compelled to expend additional energy simply to remain alive. This further effort might successively injury or can kill your sage plant. Within the fall and winter, solely take away spent blossoms and dead stems. Check that you avoid pruning any live woody stems.
How to grow organic Sage in containers
- If there is a problem like drainage for growing sage, then grow it in a 10-inch deep earthen pot. This allows you to provide the optimum soil supply to your container.
- Prepare the organic mix for the container and fill it about 1/3 full with the organic potting mix.
- Before filling the mixture, check the drainage hole on the surface, and lay it on a coarse gravel surface.
- Place the root ball about 1 inch below the rim of your pot.
- Water the plant well after planting it. And keep the moisture in the soil till the root becomes permanent.
- If you want to grow it indoors, place it in a pot near a sunny window.
Read also:
How to grow salvias. How to Grow Organic Cucumbers in your garden. 10 best vegetables to grow in containers. Trimming tree and plants. Pentas plants growing and care tips. 09 leaf plants growing in containers. Growing Okra in pots. Direct sow vegetables in the garden. Petunias plants growing and care tips. Growing Mistletoe cactus.
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