Sage
Also called Common sage, Garden sage.
| Light | full sun |
|---|---|
| Water | Every 9 days in the growing season, every 20 in winter |
| Pets | Cats safe, dogs safe |
Source: ASPCA Animal Poison Control, toxic and non-toxic plants, Sage entry.
Edible here means commonly eaten. Nothing on this site is medical or dietary advice.
Sage is a small grey shrub that behaves like one: it wants sun, sharp drainage and to be left alone. The commonest mistake is treating it as a soft herb, watering it like basil and feeding it, which gives a fat plant that collapses in its first wet winter. Grown hard it lives for years and gets better. Cut it back by a third in spring, into green growth, to stop the middle going bare and woody; a plant that has already gone woody is easier to replace than to reform. The purple and variegated forms are prettier and slightly less hardy. Its flowers are worth leaving for the bees before you trim. Non-toxic to cats and dogs, which makes it one of the safer herbs to grow on a kitchen sill in a house with animals.
Ailments observed
| White powder on the leaves | Powdery mildew in still, humid air. Give it space and sun. Mildew on sage is nearly always a crowding problem rather than a watering one. |
|---|---|
| A soft or mushy base to the stem | Wet feet through winter. Plant it high, add grit, and shelter a pot from winter rain rather than from cold. |
Filed underPlants that will not poison the cat, Plants that forgive a beginner
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