Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Salvias

Salvia officinalis: Common Sage, the Culinary Herb

Salvia officinalis, known as Common Sage or Garden Sage, is the classic culinary herb. It is a woody perennial with gray-green, pebbled, aromatic leaves. It produces spikes of lavender-blue flowers in early summer. Countless cultivars exist for ornamental and culinary use.

Plant Details

Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Salvia
Species: officinalis
Synonyms: Salvia chromatica, S. clusii, S. cretica, S. crispa, S. digyna

Grow in full sun with well-drained, alkaline soil. 'Common Sage' is drought-tolerant once established. Harvest leaves for cooking. Prune after flowering to maintain shape.

Salvias: Salvia elegans: Pineapple Sage with Fragrant Foliage and Red Flowers; Salvia argentea: Silver Sage with Dramatic Foliage; Salvia mexicana: Mexican Sage with Blue Flowers and Green Calyces; Salvia farinacea: Mealy Cup Sage, the Species with Blue Spikes; Salvia sclarea: Clary Sage with Large Bracts and Aromatic Foliage; Salvia viridis: Clary Sage with Colorful Bracts (Painted Sage); Salvia nutans (Nodding Sage); Salvia staminea (Iranian Sage); Common Sage (Salvia officinalis): The Wise Herb for Kitchen and Medicine; Salvia mexicana: The Towering Mexican Sage

Garden Articles

Salvia coccinea: Scarlet Sage, a Self-Sowing Annual for Hummingbirds

Beach Sage (Salvia africana-lutea)

Dominican Sage (Salvia dominica)

West Indian Sage (Salvia occidentalis)

Black Sage (Salvia mellifera)

Texas Sage (Salvia texana)

Salvia merjamie (Minty Kilimanjaro Sage)

Plants

Salvia azurea: Pitcher Sage with Sky-Blue Flowers

Rose Leaf Sage (Salvia involucrata)

Baby Sage (Salvia microphylla)

Greek Sage (Salvia fruticosa)

Wild Clary Sage (Salvia verbenaca)

Creeping Sage (Salvia misella)

Salvia canariensis – Majestic Canary Island Sage