Grow clary sage, Salvia sclarea in the garden

Clary sage grows biennially to perennial, in the first year the leaf rosette develops, in the second year the inflorescence is formed. Depending on the location and variety, it reaches a height of between 50 and 110 centimeters and gives you a real experience: the large flowers open at a speed that is almost perceptible to the human senses, every half hour the flower is a good bit larger.

The clary sage is a very decorative ornamental plant for perennial beds and a very good background and intermediate planting, the lavender-blue to pink-red flowers appear from the end of May to July.

This flower is quite good bee pasture, when the weather is nice you can “hear the clary sage bloom”. If you are already one of the bee-saving hobby beekeepers: An area planted only with clary sage would yield 107 to 174 kg of honey per hectare and flowering season.

Salvia sclarea is also known as a spice plant and kitchen herb, as a scented and medicinal plant. Like many herbs in the garden, it is a multi-talent: in the kitchen it rounds off various recipes, in the garden it decorates and feeds beneficial insects; As a medicinal herb, it facilitates recovery and, thanks to its scent, makes it easier to think and breathe deeply.

The scent thing

Speaking of scent and breathing deeply, the scent of clary sage is such a common topic of discussion between home gardeners (the male and female home gardener in a family) that it deserves a separate mention:

The perception of the scent of clary sage is described by knowledgeable people as “gender specific”. In forums and even on the websites of fragrance garden operators, it is repeatedly reported that men like the fragrance and women don’t like it. What the man perceives as “pleasantly balsamic and lemony” smells like “armpit sweat or unwashed feet” for the woman. There are also people who smell nutmeg or other herbs in clary sage.

Described by botanists regardless of gender, the plant smells pleasantly of orange and grapefruit and somewhat tart of the essential oils (which are used in aromatherapy). After orange and grapefruit because clary sage contains limonene; Possibly after nutmeg because it shares an essential oil with clary sage, but the name of the plant probably dictates the sense of smell.

The odor of sweat “sniffed out” by women is also present, caused by a very small amount of butyric acid. Which is perceived by women (with over 16 million olfactory cells in the nose), while the 9 million olfactory cells of men identify and report at most a “touch of tart”.

Butyric acid should by no means cause you to ban clary sage to the furthest corner of the garden: it is embedded in many other substances that have not even been researched yet, the smells mix to create the individual plant perfume of the individual plant. Before you transplant the terrace with clary sage, you should definitely “smell the sample”.

neighbours

If you cultivate a “real garden” (in the sense of the old gardening traditions that use knowledge collected over centuries), your garden is planted with a wide variety of mixed cultures that support each other. Clary sage blends in effortlessly:

• Clary sage grows very well alongside all Allium species, whether leeks, onions or ornamental onions
• In the herb bed, he particularly likes to stand next to fennel and camomile, caraway and rosemary
• Otherwise, clary sage is generally neutral towards its neighbors
• Because herbs like sage have developed in barren environments and are therefore well tolerated
• In the ornamental bed, clary sage is just as well tolerated
• With its lavender blue and pink blooms, it makes a popular background for roses

Soil, location, sowing, planting

Clary sage originally grew from the Mediterranean region down to Central Asia. It populated forests and fields, roadsides and rocky slopes up to altitudes of 2000 meters. In the garden, the clary sage needs a place that corresponds as well as possible:

• As warm and protected as possible
• for example on the south side of a wall or a warm house wall
• Gladly with lots of sun
• With permeable, deep soil for the taproot of clary sage
• Loosen compacted soil and possibly make it leaner by mixing in some sand
• Clary sage develops its best aroma in sandy, lean soil
• But he is not exactly fussy, he also grows in heavy loam

Clary sage can be sown on the spot in April. In spring, you will also find clary sage young plants on offer in selected herb nurseries.

In the case of perennials, you will often read that they can be sown or planted until autumn, which is absolutely true for many perennials. Because the perennials are the group of plants that gift us with the most native, no-fuss, hardy plants that grow as long as the ground isn’t currently frozen.

However, clary sage comes from areas quite far south of Germany. It is actually a miracle that adult Salvia sclarea can withstand temperatures as low as -15 °C without complaint. That’s it! Young plants are as sensitive to clary sage as young plants are usually and they definitely need a few months in the ground before it gets “cold on your feet”.

rearing and care

Self-grown young plants should be thinned out generously ¬– the strongest plants are left, which will grow into beautiful, large individual specimens.

Water regularly until the young plant has grown and taken on a strong shape. A clary sage easily withstands long periods of drought if the roots occasionally see a little extra water from the garden hose.

Too much moisture can do more damage, in the form of root rot. If water does not drain well from the site during prolonged rainy seasons, but prolonged rainy seasons are increasing in your area due to climate change, the site may need new drainage (at least adding more sand to the soil).

Salvia sclarea, intended for consumption at least, should only see fertilizer in organic form, but actually it develops the best aroma on lean soil. Clary sage, which is “only” planted for ornamental purposes, also grows better on unfertilized soil than on overfertilized soil.

Cut, Harvest, Use

Clary sage grows as a perennial with a basal rosette from which the tall inflorescence develops in the second season.

Cutting means harvesting the leaves in the first year, which is possible from April to July. You should also cut off the top of the main stem in spring to develop a compact multi-stemmed bud.

In the second year, the flowers can be harvested from June to August, which in the best case scenario stimulates the clary sage to develop a secondary bloom.

The harvest can be used like regular true sage. For seasoning or for tea, as an ingredient for herbal lemonade (herbal liqueur), or simply as a decorative branch in the vase.

However, clary sage has something special to offer in that its inflorescences, which extend far beyond the rosette of leaves, remain a beautiful sight for months after they have bloomed.

hibernate

Clary sage comes from the southern Mediterranean region and is “just about” hardy here:

• Clary sage does not tolerate frost below -15 degrees Celsius
• In harsh areas, it is better to overwinter the young plant in a pot in a cool, bright room in the first year
• Plant out immediately in spring to allow the plant to acclimatize well into winter
• In cold winters with temperatures below minus 15 degrees, the clary sage needs a protective cover with straw or bark mulch

multiply

Whether grown from seed for the first settlement or planted as a young plant – once the clary sage has sat in the garden, it will take care of its own propagation.

It self-seeds well, but doesn’t become impudent/overpowering in the process. Probably not all Mediterranean seeds survive dormancy in our soil.

In addition, the clary sage spreads via its taproot, which creates renewal buds around the main root in such so-called pleiocorm shrubs. These renewal buds form their own shoot-borne roots and could be taken off by you for propagation purposes. They can also simply remain in the ground and will then at some point independently take over from a dying Salvia sclarea.

The sorts

Clary sage has been cultivated by people since the 9th century at the latest, but the plant has survived in an amazingly original form. Although it was bred, breeding has produced only a few varieties:

• Clary sage
  • Common clary sage with a delicate violet flower
  • as a clary sage variant with pink flowers
  • Clary sage in a variety with white flowers
  • ‘Scharlei’, clary sage Scharlei, an impressive ornamental plant with utility value developed by the Quedlinburg seed company
• Salvia sclarea var. turkestanica, clary sage ‘Piedmont’ with deep purple flowers
• Salvia sclarea ‘Vatican White’, a clary sage variety with bright white flowers

Other varieties of clary sage could be found in herb nurseries that grow their own plants. Difficulties with not enough choice will never arise with sage anyway. Besides Salvia sclarea there is also Salvia officinalis (the best known and best-selling sage, in many cultivars), the Greek sage Salvia triloba or fruticosa, the shrub sage Salvia elegans (an evergreen, edible ornamental plant with bright purple flowers) and currently 1033 others explored species. Most of which are cultivated and used at least in their home countries.

Conclusion
Clary sage does well in the garden, whether you just want to admire it or use it for flavoring and healing. The plant is undemanding, vigorous and easy to care for, but it shouldn’t be too cold for the Mediterranean plant in winter. If in doubt, you can help the perennial with winter protection.