Salvia officinalis seeds: kitchen sage from your own garden
Common sage comes from the northern Mediterranean, and the Balkan coast in particular: sage from that region is still traded as Dalmatian sage. Left to itself the plant forms a low subshrub of about half a metre that turns woody at the base and holds its leaves through winter. Those leaves are long, grey-green and covered in fine hairs, which is what gives them their velvet feel. Upright spikes of blue-purple flowers open in early summer and bumblebees find them quickly.
The scent sits in the volatile oil inside the leaf and lifts the moment you bruise one. Italian cooking builds on that in saltimbocca and in the sage butter served with filled pasta; beyond that, sage pairs well with fatty meat, white beans and roast poultry. Fresh leaves are milder than dried ones, so cooking straight from the garden lets you use a slightly heavier hand. Prune every spring back to just above the lowest leaf buds, but never cut into bare old wood: sage rarely reshoots from it and the plant ends up thin at the base.
Sowing sage
- Start indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost, or sow outdoors in spring once the soil can be worked.
- Set the seed on moist compost and cover with no more than half a centimetre; a little light helps it along.
- Keep the tray damp rather than wet at around 18 to 21 degrees. The first seedlings show after one to three weeks.
- Plant out after the frosts in a sunny spot with free-draining soil, spaced 30 to 45 cm apart.
- Take single leaves from established plants in the first year; from the second year you can cut whole stems as the flowers begin to open.
Overwatering is the real danger here. On heavy, wet ground the roots rot, so quick drainage matters far more than rich soil.
More exotic seeds at Avalon
Alongside common sage, Avalon Magic Plants stocks Salvia apiana (white sage), Hypericum perforatum (St. John's wort), Lactuca virosa (wild lettuce), Leonotis nepetifolia (klip dagga) and Nelumbo nucifera (lotus). Every order leaves our warehouse discreetly packed.
