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Carolina Gardening

Pineapple Sage is blooming!

16 years ago

One plant started up last week just before the rain. The others look like they'll bloom soon. The pineapple sage is located near the hummingbird feeder. I still have three hummers hanging around.

Since this is my first year with pineapple sage -- any NC tips for keeping it over the winter? It's on the east side of the house where it gets eastern and southern sun. I'm in Chapel Hill.

Does anyone use it in the kitchen or for tea?

Thanks,

Cameron

PS s. ulignosa, black & blue and navajo red are still blooming! :-)

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Comments (3)

tamelask
16 years ago
they say trim it down only to a foot or 2 above ground & mulch well. that's always worked for me- mine came back for 10 years, then finally got so woody in the center it pooped out. you can always take a cutting as insurance- they root easily in water. you can use either the leaves or the flowers for tea. i've only done it a few times- i do drink lots of herbals, but am lazy and normally just buy them prepackaged. uliginosa blooms for me til first frost, as does b&b. lipstick and some of the other reds & pinks are still blooming for me, too.
Lynda Waldrep
16 years ago
I do not cut pineapple sage back until early spring. I was told not to cut back anything that has a pithy stem, such as Joe Pye and this sage in the fall, because, if we have freezing rain, lots of snow, etc., the water gets down to the roots and will kill the plant. Don't know if it is an old wives' tale or not, but I have kept one for quite some time, and I am in a cold zone 7, much colder than your Chapel Hill. My plant has SE exposure, too.
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I'm thinking mine isn't getting enough sun but it was the one spot that gets adequate moisture in a dry bed. With any luck(weather)it will bloom before frost. Hmm..just thinking , probably good it's not blooming because it's grown half across a stairway from the porch. The hummingbirds and carpenter bees will fight over the blooms I'm sure. And, I'm going to need to use a different door for a while (allergic to stings).
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Aw... lucky you, but so sad too. Can you pick some of the leaves and freeze them in something like FoodSaver? I don't know how the blossoms would freeze, but you might try those too. Wouldn't they be beautiful swimming in a water jar with their hint of pineapple.
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DYH
Original Author
16 years ago
I'll just treat it like the other sages, then.

Thanks!

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