When to plant sage?
- Botanical name
- Salvia officinalis
- Family
- Lamiaceae
Sage is planted from April to May. It is harvested all year. It is cut back from April to May.
Sage is a woody perennial. The edible parts are the leaves and flowers.
A young shoot is cut off and rooted, or a branch is bent to the ground and buried so that it makes roots. Over the years the bush turns woody at the base and thin, so every 4 years it gives way to a young plant.
Sage is cut every year and only lightly. The shoots are shortened to the point where leaves still grow. New growth rarely comes from a thick woody stem.
Sage keeps its leaves through winter, so it is gathered in the cold part of the year as well. The best flavour is in the leaves of spring and summer growth. The flowers are not eaten in quantity.
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Sage through the year
- planting
- harvest
- cutting back
In short
Growing conditions
Is sage toxic to cats and dogs?
No. Sage is not toxic to cats and dogs.
Pests and diseases
Listed here is every problem for which the sources name this plant as a host. The problems are not listed in order of how common they are.
- Signs
- Over the upper side of the leaves there is a coarse pale speckling, and on the underside small animals that jump away quickly. By the end of summer the leaf can be heavily mottled, while the growth of the plant is hardly affected. The affected herbs are perfectly safe to eat.
- Prevention
- It overwinters as an egg on the plant itself and is active from May into autumn, so cleared old wood and foliage at the end of the season helps. Encourage birds, ladybirds, parasitic wasps and ground beetles.
- What to do
- No spray is needed: the pest does not affect the growth or the vigour of the plant, so the right answer is to put up with it. If the look bothers you, cut back the most mottled shoots, because the new growth comes clean.
- Signs
- The leaves are eaten and left as short stubs with a grey brown edge where the tissue has dried. The metallic green and purple beetles are on the plant all year round.
- Prevention
- Action is usually not needed, because a healthy plant takes the beetle. Encourage birds and ground beetles.
- What to do
- Pick them off by hand or shake the branches over a sheet of paper laid underneath, easiest in the morning, when the beetles are slow.
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Related plants
The plants below are in the same botanical family (Lamiaceae).
Sources about the plant: ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants, BUND Region Hannover, Colorado State University Extension, GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, NC State Extension Plant Toolbox, Royal Horticultural Society, University of Georgia Extension, Wikidata. Checked between 14 and 17 August 2026. The problem descriptions also draw on: EPPO Global Database.