Sage
Salvia officinalis
Botanical family: Lamiaceae
A herb and medicinal of the Lamiaceae family (Salvia officinalis), common sage is a Mediterranean subshrub with evergreen grey-green foliage. It demands full sun and a well-drained soil, and is among the plants of longest-standing repute in the pharmacopoeia. Nectar-bearing, it attracts bees and bumblebees at its flowering.
Full sun
Well-drained
Sparing once established, tolerates drought
Hardy (-10 °C)
Overwinters in your zone
Role in permaculture
A nectar-bearing herb traditionally planted near cabbages: its scent is said to confuse cabbage-white pests. A medicinal plant (leaf listed in the European Pharmacopoeia).
Good companions
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Poor companions
Insects attracted or useful
Seasons & availability
Evergreen: available all year round.
Available: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- RHS, « How to Grow Sage » (rhs.org.uk/herbs/sage/grow-your-own)
- Plants For A Future, « Salvia officinalis » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Salvia+officinalis)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Salvia officinalis: the concentrated forms rich in thujone (essential oil, extracts, very strong infusions) are neurotoxic at excessive dose and contraindicated in case of epilepsy. To be avoided in pregnancy (uterotonic action). To be avoided during breastfeeding too, sage has a traditional reputation for inhibiting lactation. Possibly to be avoided in case of hypothyroidism (preliminary, non-consensual data). Normal culinary use without problem.
In the kitchen & the apothecary
Where to find sage in preparations: recipes and traditional herbal teas.
Family behaviour: Lamiaceae
In general, Lamiaceae are aromatics (basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender, lemon balm, savory). Their essential oils are reputed to bother some insects, but in a trial cited by Parker et al. (2013), sage, thyme and mint planted near cabbages did not reduce their pests. Their flowers are much visited by pollinators.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Species
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
The School of Salerno (medieval Latin medicine) · Southern Italy, 12th–13th centuries
The School of Salerno, the first medical school of Europe, passes on this adage that became a proverb in Latin: 'Cur moriatur homo cui salvia crescit in horto?', 'Why should a man die in whose garden sage grows?' The very name of the plant, Salvia, comes from the Latin salvare: to save. At a time when medicine was reinventing itself between Greek, Arab, and Latin traditions, sage carried all the promise of a healing nature, the end of the couplet adds an honest nuance: 'Against death, there is no remedy in the gardens.'
Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum (compilation versifiée du Schola Medica Salernitana, XIIIᵉ siècle), strophes sur la sauge.
Keep in mind
The repellent effect on caterpillars through olfactory confusion is documented in organic gardening but stays variable in the field. The often-repeated 'slug repellent' claim belongs to folklore: no solid study confirms it.
A note on rigour: many companion pairings are gardening folklore; this note sums up what the sources say, where there are any.