Hi, Trudi - I haven't done it myself, but 3 different sites said you could propagate by layering, so I'd leave them and see if it works.

I was interested because my sage, in a pot on the apartment balcony, is doing the same thing - blooming on long stems. I have rarely had s. officinalis blooming in the past.

Culinary sage propagates well by layering. I just take a long branch, dig a small hole weight the branch down with a rock and cover. Then split off from the mother plant (or not) a year later depending if I want to move it to another place.

Sage is in the mint family, and as a rule, mint family plants propagate well with layering.

Lynda

Thank you both! It does look very much like a plant you could root by layering, but it's always good to get confirmation from Winter Sowers ;-)

Kim, I wonder if the plant prefers more shade in a hotter climate. Nowadays most salvias come with recommendation for full sun, but when I was growing up we were told at the nursery to put the annuals into part shade. So maybe your pot is doing great with the balcony shading it some of the day. Just a guess, but seems probable.

T

Quite possibly, Trudi - thanks! Yes, learning about the challenges of southern gardening is interesting. Although the south experienced an unusual period of extended cold this past winter, normally the heat is definitely more of a problem for gardeners. Good luck with your sage; may you have many babies!:)

Trudi, my sage is years old and woody. By the time the weather gets fairly nice here it's taking over the small herb bed, so I just cut it back whenever and it seems to do fine. But mine's just for culinary use, not decorative.

Caryl

In the past when I've cut it back, I've saved a few stems and wrapped a rubberband around them, then hung up in the attic so they dry nicely for me. After a few weeks I just crumble the leaves off the stems and voila, dried sage for cooking. I can whirr them in the food processor after they've dried to make a fine powder, but I think I like the crumbled leaves better for seasoning meats.

Hey -- can you eat the flowers? This is my first time growing sage, and my plant is in it's second year, and it's blooming! :)

I cook with the leaves, but I never thought about the flowers.

Thanks
Leisa

Yes you can Leisa ;-)

I'll paste in a link to an excellent page on edible flowers from Colorado State Extension. The page is nice because it has a list of what you can't eat and then what you can.

Here is a link that might be useful: Edible Flowers

Cool -- thanks!

I love sage for cooking! However the last time I grew some it did not survive the winter.

Do you re sow it each year?
thanks!
Karen

Hi Karen,

My plants are perennial here on Long Island, zone 7. Plants for a Future says it's hardy to zone five. They have a lot of info on their page, well worth reading.

If it doesn't winter over for you then yes you should resow the plant if you want it in your garden, or buy a few plants in spring. It's a very common herb and most garden centers will carry them.

T

Here is a link that might be useful: PFAF.Org ~ Salvia officinalis

thanks Trudi! I will look at the site and get some!

Karen

Hiya!!

Just to add...most of your plants in the mint (Lamiaceae)family will propagate easily this way...Salvia,Rosemary, Thyme, Lavender, Oregano, etc. :))

Vera

It's my favorite way of propagating shrubs too. Just bend down a stem into a shallow ditch you've scraped into the soil, cover with some dirt, and a rock over the buried stem to keep it buried, and then wait a year to go by, it should be well rooted with good growth in that amount of time.