How I Turned Sage from an Annual into a Perennial in My Zone 4/5 Garden

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Here in New Hampshire, growing sage hasn’t always been easy. I always grew it as an annual since it didn’t overwinter well. But it’s hard to get a good harvest from a plant that only has one season to grow.

Since then, I found a nice microclimate to plant it in — tucked in a corner between the house and the garage with southern exposure — and it does well there, despite the one in the back garden not making it through that first year.

I think the fact that our zone changed from 4 to 5 in the last few years may have had an impact as well. But we had a really harsh winter last year, and it still came back, so honestly, I’m not sure.

Now that it comes back year after year, I get an amazing harvest from the two plants I have — almost enough to make it through the winter. 

Sage grows easily given the right conditions. Plus, its aromatic scent naturally deters “bad” bugs from feasting on nearby fruits and vegetables, so it’s a great companion plant, too.

Benefits of Growing Sage in the Garden

Sage (Salvia officinalis) has many benefits in culinary use and herbal remedies, but it’s also a great ally for the garden.

It’s a strong repellent plant — its essential oils and pungent scent help keep pests away from nearby fruits and vegetables. Its flowers also attract beneficial insects to the garden, and it’s drought-tolerant once established.

A low-growing variety, like Lyreleaf Sage (Salvia lyrata), can also work well as a ground cover.

How to Grow Sage from Seed

You can start sage from seed, but it often takes up to three weeks to germinate. Grow bigger plants faster by starting with divisions or store-bought sage plants instead.

If you’re in zone 4 or colder — meaning your sage may not overwinter — it’s more advantageous to buy started plants, so you get a longer harvest window.

But if you’d like to grow sage from seed, here’s how:

To start sage from seed, lightly press seeds into a soil mixture 6–8 weeks before your area’s last frost date. For me in NH, that’s mid to late March.

Be sure not to overwater the seeds since sage plants don’t like to sit in water — keep the soil just moist. A spray bottle works well for this; it keeps the soil moist without making it soggy.

How to Propagate Sage

Dividing plants is usually a better bet for creating new sage plants, but you can also propagate from cuttings.

Propagating by Division

The best time to divide sage is in early spring, just as new growth starts, or in early fall after the heat of summer has passed.

Dig up the whole plant and gently pull or cut the root ball into two or three sections, making sure each piece has some healthy roots and a few stems attached.

Replant the divisions right away, water them in well, and keep the soil consistently moist for the first couple of weeks while they re-establish. I recommend leaving at least one plant alone each year so you can still harvest well. 

Propagating by Cuttings

If you’d rather not disturb an established plant, take a 3–4 inch cutting from a healthy, non-flowering stem in late spring or early summer.

Strip the leaves from the bottom half, dip the cut end in rooting hormone if you have it (not strictly necessary, but it helps), and tuck it into a pot of well-draining potting mix.

Keep the soil lightly moist and out of direct sun until roots form — usually 3–4 weeks. 

You can also place the stem in a glass of water and watch as the roots form. I prefer this method because i can easily see which stems are rooting and which ones are not (often those are rotting).

Once there is a good root system, I’ll transplant into potting soil, or directly into the garden.

Either method is a great way to expand your patch for free, or to share starts with friends and neighbors who want to grow their own.

How to Plant Sage

Once your seedlings are big enough (or if you’ve purchased plants), you can start planting in the garden. Sage is a hardy plant, so there’s not a lot you can do wrong. You can transplant it outdoors 1–2 weeks before the last frost date for your area, but if it’s later, you can still plant.

Sage grows best in full sun and well-draining, sandy soil. If your soil is more of a clay-like consistency, you’ll want to add some compost and sand to help your sage plants grow — a raised bed can help with this, too.

Sage needs plenty of space from other plants, since it tends to mature into a bush shape when grown as a perennial. I’d recommend leaving about 24 inches between sage and other larger plants to give it ample room to grow. Feel free to grow a living mulch between them in the meantime.

Sage is a superb plant to grow alongside a few of my favorite easy-to-grow vegetables, including tomatoes and carrots. It also grows well next to rosemary. Right now, in my little microclimate garden where sage lives, yarrow and borage also pop up later in the season once they get enough sun to do so.

How to Care for Sage

Given a spot in the garden that meets its needs, sage requires very little attention to grow well. The most important thing to watch for is overwatering. Sage is a drought-tolerant plant, so wait until the soil is dry before watering it. With a good layer of mulch and a climate that gets decent rain, you likely never need to water it at all — I’ve never watered mine, beyond the first few weeks after transplant.

Many herbs are more flavorful if you pinch off their flower buds before they flower. But sage is an exception — it won’t lose flavor after flowering, which is perfect if you want to attract pollinators to your garden while still harvesting the herb!

The only real pruning sage needs is in early spring. By cutting the stems back past the woody growth, you’ll encourage new, flavorful growth.

Cold Climate Sage Growing

If you live in a climate similar to mine (New Hampshire, zone 4/5), you’re right on the cusp of being able to grow sage as a perennial.

Here are a few things that can help create an environment where sage survives the winter:

• Plant in a microclimate. As I mentioned, my sage grows in a small garden outside my door, tucked between the house and the garage. The buildings block northern winds and create a slightly warmer pocket with southern sun exposure. We had a particularly long, cold winter last year — temps around 0°F for days and weeks at a time — and the sage did just fine.
• Mulch heavily. My little spot is naturally mulched by an apple tree nearby, so I don’t even have to add mulch myself. This definitely helps protect the roots from cold.
• Plant in the ground rather than raised beds. Raised beds can be great for soil drainage, but they also expose plant roots to more extreme soil temperatures, since the soil sits above ground level. If you’ve grown sage in raised beds and it didn’t make it, try planting directly in the ground instead (with mulch!).

Overall, sage is an easy plant to care for, which makes it one of my favorites.

How to Harvest Sage

Harvest sage leaves anytime throughout the growing season. During the first year, don’t harvest a large quantity — this allows your plant the time it needs to become established in the garden.

Depending on your plants’ age and health, you may want to plan one or two larger harvests each growing season to encourage new growth.

Drying herbs for later use is simple and a great way to prolong your harvest. You can use a dehydrator, but I prefer to cut whole stems and lightly bunch them together to hang dry. Hanging them upside down in a dark, dry, well-ventilated area will ensure the leaves dry evenly. Once crispy, place the leaves in a sealed container for later use.

Sage can bloom at random times, but mine seems to bloom in spring, before I’ve even considered harvesting. Luckily, it’s just fine to harvest after flowering, too — I just choose to harvest from stems that don’t have flowers on them.

Sage: a Favorite Garden Warrior

Sage is a great plant to get to know in your garden. It has so many benefits for people and the garden, and growing it is so easy! If you live in a border zone as I do, you may need to take a few extra steps to make sure it survives the winter, though.

Now that you’ve got sage established, check out all the ways I actually use it — from tea and salves to chicken feed and bug spray.