Sage's usefulness goes beyond the confines of the medicine cabinet and the kitchen. Because of its aromatic oils, it is frequently used in making soaps and perfumes. Native Americans utilize sage for spiritual purification ceremonies in the form of smudge sticks.
These are branches of white sage (Salvia apiana) which have been cut into lengths about one foot long, bound together and dried. For the ceremony, they are lit and left to smolder, producing a rich, aromatic smoke.
While sage has links to many cultures throughout the world, it is thought to have originated in Syria. From there it spread throughout the northern Mediterranean and then on to the rest of the world via the trade routes.
With over 500 species, from colored varieties to dwarfs to non -lowering varieties, sage is grown throughout the world (almost anywhere there is good drainage and full sun). Most of the varieties are perennials, fast growers, require low moisture and are deer resistant, making them a favorite with gardeners and cooks.
Size: 2 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide. Silver sage is grown for its luscious, crinkled soft silver-gray foliage. The ragged white flowers are best removed before they open.
Size: 3 to 4 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide. This upright bushy sage has lance-shaped basil leaves, leafy stems, and dense terminal spikes of azure blue flowers. Var. grandiflora has larger flowers. Salvia uliginosa, bog sage, has a smilar form, with azure-and-white-bicolor flowers on 4- to 5-foot stems.
Salvia azurea is taller than violet sage and has dense spikes of bright blue flowers and nearly hairless lance-shaped leaves. While blue sage doesn't start blooming until midsummer to late summer, it continues to bloom well into fall without deadheading. Perfect drainage is a must because the plants are highly susceptible to winter rot. In Zone 5, apply a generous layer of lightweight winter mulch (such as pine needles).
Size: 2 to 3 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide. Darcy sage is a stunning plant with vermilion flowers held above fragrant wedge-shaped, resinous leaves. Look out hummingbirds! Salvia regia has small, kidney shaped leaves that are mostly basal, and tall spikes, to 3 feet, of red flowers in fall. Salvia darcyi 'Jame' is a good red-orange selection.
Size: 1.5 to 4 feet tall, 1 to 2 feet wide. Mealycup sage is an open, loosely branching sage that has narrowly oval leaves and terminal spikes of violet-blue flowers held above foliage. Grown as the popular annual in colder zones. 'Salvia farinacea' 'Blue Bedder' has deep blue flowers on 2- to 2.5-foot stems. Salvia farinacea 'Victoria' is similar but more compact (18 inches). Salvia farinacea 'Indigo Spires' is an open-crowned hybrid sage to 3 feet tall with spikes of tiered deep blue flowers.
Size: 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. Autumn Sage is a small rounded shrub with delicate, soft, hairy leaves and terminal clusters of red flowers all season. In colder zones, plants die back partiall or to the ground and do not begin blooming until early summer. Salvia greggii 'Dark Dancer' has deep raspberry red flowers. Salvia xjamensis is a red-flowered hybrid. Salvia microphylla is similar to autumn sage but a bit less hardy.
Leaf size is variable, not always small as the name would indicate. Salvia greggii 'San Carlos Festival' is a great compact selection with deep fuchsia-pink flowers. Salvia greggii 'Wild Watermelon' is watermelon pink. Many hybrid sage selections are available. Maraschino Sage has cherry red flowers. Raspberry Royal Salvia has glowing raspberry flowers. Silke's Dream Salvia is a rich scarlet.
Size: 4 to 6 feet tall, 3 to 4 feet wide. Blue Anise Sage is a tall, leafy sage with deep blue flowers on stout stems. Salvia guaranitica 'Argentine Skies' has soft sky blue flowers. Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue' has deep indigo flowers with near-black calyces on compact plants to 3 feet tall.
Size: 1 to 2 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide. Yellow sage is a woodland sage with spear-shaped leaves and spikes of milky yellow flowers in late summer and fall. Salvia nipponica has a similar form but is more compact. Salvia nipponica 'Fuji Snow' has white edged, speckled leaves.
Size: 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. Velvet sage is a shrubby sage with woolly stems and leaves and 10-foot spires of white flowers with purple calyces from midsummer through frost. Salvia leucantha 'Midnight' has red-violet flowers and purple calyces. Salvia leucantha 'Santa Barbara' is a compact selection, 2 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide. Salvia leucantha 'Anthony Parker' is a hybrid with purple-blue flowers on open plants.
Size: 1.5 to 3.5 feet tall and wide. Garden sage is a lovely sage smothered in stiff spikes of violet blue flowers for 3 to 4 weeks in early to midsummer. Triangular leaves are soft, hairy, and bright green. Salvia nemorosa 'Caradonna' is tall (2.5 feet) with open spikes of blue-violet flowrs all summer. Salvia nemorosa 'Lubecca' has blue-violet flowers on tall, open spikes. Salvia nemorosa 'Marcus' is a true dwarf to 8 inches with blue-violet flowrs. Salvia nemorosa 'Ostfriesland' ('East Friesland') has deep purple flowers on compact stems 1 to 1.5 feet tall.
Salvia cultivars are sometimes listed under the similar Salvia xsylvestris. The following selections belong here. Salvia nemorosa 'Blaukonigin' ('Blue Queen') has violet flowers and is 1.5 to 2 feet tall. Salvia nemorosa 'Mainacht' ('May Night') has purple flowers and red-violet calyxes. Salvia nemorosa 'Rosenkonigin' ('Rose Queen') has rose-pink flowers. Salvia nemorosa 'Schneehuegal' ('Snow Hill') has white flowers. Salvia nemorosa 'Viola Klose' has dark blue flowers.
Salvia nemorosa (violet sage) forms an open mound of narrow, rough leaves bearing upright, narrow spikes of tiny, tubular, violet-purple flowers. Most plants listed as Salvia nemorosa are actually cultivars or hybrids. The cultivars are similar to the species, but they vary in flower color and are more compact, with denser, more rounded mounds of foliage. The bloom in early summer to midsummer, with repeat bloom into fall if deadheaded regularly. Violet sage can be tender in areas with wet winters.
Size: 1.5 to 2 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide. Ornamental and culinary, a semiwoody shrub with woolly, oblong leaves and somewhat insignificant blue-violet flowers. Many handsome leaf colors with compact form are available. Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten' has broad oval leaves and is quite showy with blue-violet flowers. Salvia officinalis 'Compacta' is a compact grower to 15 inches with smaller leaves. Salvia officinalis 'Icterina' has gold-and-green variegated foliage. Salvia officinalis 'Purpurescens' has gray-violet leaves. Salvia officinalis 'Tricolor' has pink, green, and white leaves.
Size: 1 to 3 feet tall, 2 to 3 feet wide. Meadow Sage is a slender sage with bushy rosettes of oval leaves and tall, branching stems tipped with showy violet-blue flowers. Excellent cultivars are available. Salvia pratensis 'Haematodes' has showy blue-violet flowers. Salvia pratensis 'Rosea' has rose-purple flowers. Salvia verticillata, whorled sage, is a sprawling species with blue flowrs atop lax spikes. Salvia pratensis 'Purple Rain' is smoky purple. Salvia pratensis 'White Rain' is white flowered and has a more complact form, to 2 feet tall, and 3 feet wide.