How to grow Sage in Australia

Where to plant

Sage needs full sun and light, free-draining soil. It rots in heavy, wet ground, so use a raised bed, a mound or a pot if your soil is clay. Rich soil and heavy feeding give soft, leafy growth with less flavour, so keep it lean.

Good air flow helps prevent mildew, so do not crowd it.

• Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart: sage does well. In the coldest areas it may die back over winter and reshoot in spring. In Hobart, plant from September to November.
• Sydney, South East Queensland and the Northern Rivers: plant from March to September. Humid summers are its hardest season, so give it the sunniest, airiest spot.
• North Queensland and Darwin: plant in the dry season, from May to September, in a pot or raised bed that drains fast.

Choosing a variety

• Common sage has grey-green leaves and the classic flavour.
• Coloured-leaf forms such as purple, golden and tricolour sage are just as usable in the kitchen and make good ornamental edging.
• Plants raised from cuttings keep the leaf colour and flavour of the parent; seed-grown plants vary.

How to plant

1. Start with a potted plant or a cutting, or sow seed in punnets in spring.
2. Plant in full sun in well-drained soil, at the same depth as the pot.
3. Space plants about 30 to 50 cm apart so air can move between them.
4. Water in and keep lightly moist until new growth starts, then water only in dry spells.

Watering and feeding

Water new plants during dry spells in their first year. Established sage in the ground is very drought tolerant and needs water only in long dry periods; let the soil dry out between drinks. Cut back on watering in winter to avoid root rot. Pots dry out faster and need checking in summer.

Sage needs very little feeding. A little compost in spring is plenty.

Pruning and care through the year

Sage goes woody and straggly with age, so it needs pruning once a year. Advice on how hard to prune differs.

• The cautious approach (RHS): trim the whole plant lightly in spring to keep it compact, and avoid cutting into old, bare wood, which may not regrow.
• The rejuvenating approach (Gardening Australia): in winter, cut a woody plant back hard, to a few centimetres of stem, and it should reshoot strongly in spring and summer.
• If a hard cut is risky, cut back by about a third and check for new shoots low on the stems first. Most plants are worth replacing after a few years, from cuttings of your own.

Harvesting

Pick leaves or sprigs at any time once the plant is growing well. Spring and summer growth has the best flavour. Regular light picking keeps fresh shoots coming.

Leaves keep about a week in the fridge, loosely wrapped. Sage dries very well: hang sprigs in a warm, dark, airy place, then store the leaves in an airtight jar. Chopped leaves can also be frozen in ice-cube trays.

Growing in pots

Sage grows well in a pot at least 20 to 30 cm wide with good drainage holes. Use a free-draining mix with some added grit, place the pot in full sun and water when the top of the mix is dry.

Using it

Sage is strong, so a little goes a long way. Use it in stuffing, with pork, chicken and veal, in sage and burnt butter sauces for pasta and gnocchi, and with pumpkin. Fried sage leaves make a crisp garnish. The flowers are edible.

Propagation

Take softwood cuttings from new growth in late spring or early summer. Remove the lower leaves, insert the cuttings into a gritty potting mix and keep them lightly moist until they root. Low stems can also be layered by pegging them to the soil. Seed can be sown in spring, but seedlings vary.