Burning the white sage plant has been known for its multiple healing properties and ritualistic usage. It is supposed to dispel negative energy through a process called smudging and even helps in treating certain mood disorders.
Some additional benefits of the white sage plant are:
- Packed with a lot of nutrients like iron, vitamin K, and calcium
- Packed with antioxidants
- Has effective antimicrobial properties
- Might help with menopause symptoms
- Helps with a sinus infection and also with a sore throat
- Helps clean the air of germs
- May help improve memory and overall brain health
It is easy to add the white sage plant to your diet. You could consume it in the form of tea or add it to a few dishes for an earthy flavor. Remember, it is these several health benefits that make it a plant worth growing and taking care of.
What is a White Sage Plant?
The white sage plant is a large, herbaceous plant that is known for its rare flower structure. It can grow from 1.3 meters to 1.5 meters in favorable conditions and is supposed to be one of the larger salvias. Additionally, it has numerous basal branches with clusters of pale grey and thickened leaves, that have a smooth texture. What is beautiful is that the plant has tiny flowers which are dotted with lavender.
It is known by many other names like salvia apiana, bee sage, and sage stick. It gets the name “apiana” and “bee sage” because of its quality to attract bees. Also, it has a private set of pollinators. Only larger bees like carpenter bees and bumblebees can pollinate the flower. This stems from the fact that only larger insects can reach the nectar of the plant.
Impressively, the white sage plant has several mystical qualities and is valued by Native Americans as a ritualistic plant.
Bonus Read: Learn about the different types of sage plants and their appearance!
How to Grow a White Sage Plant?
There are mainly two ways to grow a white sage plant – from seeds and cuttings. Both are effective and suggested ways to grow the plant. By following a few basic instructions, you can have a white sage plant growing in your backyard.
Here are the two ways to grow a healthy white sage plant:
Growing from Seeds
Growing white sage plants through seeds is the most practiced method. However, since the germination rate for this plant is low, it can take time to grow. You may even have to overplant to compensate for the low germination rate.
It is advisable to start planting the seeds in spring because of favorable weather conditions. You should start with sowing the seeds in a tray or small containers rather than directly sowing it in the soil. Try having the most optimal weather and soil conditions when sowing the seeds since the germination rate of the plant is already low.
You should get a seed starter soil mix for ensuring effective germination and growth. Soil mixes help in retaining moisture and ensure there isn’t a big chunk of wood or other material.
After you have the tray and soil with you, follow these steps to grow the plant from seeds:
- Fill your tray with the soil mix.
- Sprinkle your seeds across the tray and spray water on them.
- Place the seeds in a location that is set up at room temperature – approximately, 65-80F degrees.
- The seeds require sunlight to grow, so you should try placing them in direct sunlight.
- You should keep the soil moistened, but never soggy.
It takes around 2 weeks to see the sprouts popping up. Be warned, you should only transplant them after they’ve become at least 3 inches tall.
Bonus Read: Check out this review on the 7 best seed starting mixes.
Growing from Cuttings
Fall is the most appropriate season to grow white sage plants from cuttings. Keep in mind, growing from cuttings is faster and has a higher chance of germination than growing from seeds. However, it is a challenge too. Mainly because the germination rate from cuttings is yet only around 20%.
To start, create a soil mixture containing equal portions of perlite, medium-grained sand, and seed-starting compost. After you have your pot and the soil ready, follow these steps to grow your plant:
- Moisten the soil and place it in the pot.
- Take 4-6” cuttings with newly formed leaves from a white sage plant.
- Dip the end of the cuttings in the water and the rooting powder.
- Dust off the extra powder and then place the cutting in the soil.
- The lowest set of leaf nodes should be ½” below the soil surface.
- Hold the cutting until it is firm in its place.
- Keep the pot in a partially shaded location (70-85F degrees is the favorable temperature range for the plant to grow)
- Tug on the plant slightly to know if it has formed roots after 4-6 weeks.
- You can now slowly start getting your plant accustomed to proper sunlight.
- Once the roots have developed, water the plant only when the soil feels dry.
Also, increase your plant’s exposure to sunlight on a bi-monthly basis. Once the plant seems hardened, you can transplant it.
Taking Care of a White Sage Plant
White sage is resilient and easy to maintain. But it cannot be neglected. It does not like the cold and will perish each winter. However, it revives once winter is over, if it is not exposed to prolonged temperatures under 20F degrees.
The following requirements should be kept in mind when taking care of a white sage plant.
Water
Overwatering is harmful to white sage since it is originally a desert plant. It prefers drier conditions, and excessive water can cause problems like mildew or even kill the plant.
In its first growing season, the plant should have around ½ inch of water per week. You should reduce the water as the root establishes.
Once the root has been established, the plant doesn’t need additional water unless drought-like conditions exist.
Tip: You should water the plant sparingly in hot weather conditions, and not at all otherwise.
Sunlight
Full sun is a requirement for growing the white sage, and it needs at least 6 hours of sunlight daily to thrive. Try avoiding shaded areas when placing your plant. Try and pick the area which receives the most sunlight and place your plant in similar regions in your backyard.
If you live in a place that experiences extreme winter season, with temperatures dropping below 20F, you should transplant the white sage. In this case, gardeners could place the plant in a pot indoors, with artificial lighting and enough heat.
Soil
Since the plant cannot survive in waterlogged conditions, the soil you opt for should have good drainage properties. Moreover, the soil should be sandy and porous. If the soil in your region is not suitable for growing white sage plants, you could even choose a cactus growing blend.
Mulch
Mulch helps in retaining moisture in the soil, preventing the growth of weed, and keeping the soil cool. You mainly need to use mulch in either really hot or cold weather conditions. The plant will even benefit from a thick layer of mulch applied in the fall.
More than all, using mulch in hot conditions is important to slow occurrences of soil moisture evaporation. Whereas using mulch in winters helps to keep the roots from freezing. If you are wondering what to utilize as mulch, attempt using shredded wood or bark.
Fertilizer
It not important to give fertilizer to white sage, but the plant may benefit from it if given in extremely controlled quantities.
It is a light feeder, meaning too much fertilizer might spoil the plant. But a one-inch layer of aged compost in spring will ensure the plant stays healthy.
You can even apply slow-release flower food in spring, instead of aged compost. Give testing your soil a shot, and if it has a severe deficiency, then you must feed fertilizer to the plant.
Bonus Read: If you aren’t sure what fertilizer you should use, click here to get suggestions for a few of the best fertilizers.
Pruning
White sages are mints, and they grow at a rapid speed. It is important to prune your plant to encourage new growth.
This plant can get uncontrollable during its growth phase. Thus, it is best to nurture it in an area where it cannot encroach upon other plants. It is these properties that make it necessary to prune the leaves and branches of white sage.
Follow these simple steps for effective pruning:
- Use a sterilized sharp knife to eliminate plant diseases and infection
- Cut the shoots in early spring before flowers start to appear
- Remove dead leaves and branches
- Cut out the wayward branches
- Avoid giving the plant an unnatural shape or straight cut
Tip: You should not prune below the node joint where new leaves sprout.
Pest Control
Pest control for sage depends on the type of pest which has infested the plant.
The following ways could be used to treat the most likely pest infestations:
- Aphids and whiteflies can be treated with insecticidal soap or neem oil.
- Slug baits can be used for serious slug infestation, and coarse material can be spread all over the ground to prevent infestation altogether.
- You can simply pluck caterpillars off the plant to get rid of them, or treat the younger, just hatched caterpillars with Bacillus thuringiensis.
These are the most common types of pests a white sage plant is usually infested with. You can prevent infestation by making sure to keep your plant’s nourishing environment healthy.
Disease Control
Sage plants are mainly affected by three types of diseases. They are explained below, with treatment for the same.
- Powdery Mildew: It is a common problem in white sage, and can be easily avoided with a little care. Even amateur gardeners can recognize it through white blotches appearing on the leaves of the plants. Since the fungal spores travel by air, this is contagious and may damage other plants too.
Follow these steps to control and manage the disease:
- Make sure your plant has good airflow.
- Spray neem oil on it when the weather starts cooling down, especially on the underside of the leaves.
- You can even use potassium bicarbonate on your plant to kill the spores quickly.
Since white sage is a desert plant, it is highly susceptible to humid-loving fungus types. Therefore, special care needs to be taken to avoid infestation.
- Mint Rust: This is recognized by small, dusty, orange patches on the underside of the leaves of your plant. The new shoots might have a pale and distorted appearance. Even worse, large areas of leaf tissue might start dying and the leaves would start to shed.
To control this disease, follow these steps:
- Remove infected plants and rhizomes
- Heat treatment of roots
- Roots should be immersed in hot water (111F degrees), and then cooled down using cold water
- Water the plant from the bottom and not overhead
By following a few simple steps, you can control contagious diseases from spreading to other plants as well. These steps will even help keep the infested plant healthy as per its lifecycle requirements.
Harvesting and Storage
You can start harvesting your plant once it has reached full growth. Do not remove more than 30% of the new growth in the first year. Additionally, it is important to only trim the tops when harvesting the plant. If you trim the woody stems too far down the plant you will not see any new growth through the plant.
You should harvest the plant when the dew has dried. The afternoon is a good time to harvest because that’s when the oils highest in concentration are present in the leaves. You can even air-dry the leaves to store them. Another suggestion is to dry them using a drying rack or shallow basket. Finally, consider hanging the pieces, bundling them together in sets of 2 or 3 to allow proper air circulation.
It usually takes around 10 days to dry in the warmer season, while it may take a little longer in cooler conditions. Remember, the leaves have dried once they make a crisp sound when snapped in half.
You can even refrigerate sage leaves for around 2-3 days, but they will have to be consumed after that. Another option is freezing the leaves in an airtight container to store them for a longer duration.
Usage
The plant has multiple uses in the kitchen and for its medicinal properties too.
Some easy to execute means of usage that every gardener can use are:
- Adding the leaves in salads and other dishes
- Making tea with sage leaves
- Burning a little sage for smudging to get rid of negative energy
As discussed above, sage has multiple benefits, thus making it a very useful plant.
FAQs
How much sage can one plant give?
There is no definite amount for how much one sage plant can give. The quantity depends on the size of your plant, its health and productivity, and how much you’ve been trimming it.
You should not trim your plant if it is under a year old, and avoid trimming too much in the second year.
How is the potassium bicarbonate applied to the plant?
You can apply the potassium bicarbonate using a spray bottle with water. The instructions are usually given on the package.
Why are the leaves of my white sage plant becoming red?
This happens because of drought stress. You can drizzle the plant with a little water at the base to revive it back to its normal state.
Conclusion
White sage is becoming endangered in the wild because of its multiple benefits. Having your sage plant will enable you to use it at your convenience.
Most importantly, the demand for white sage has increased because of smudging. Either way, once you grow the plant, you can even use it for propagation through cutting.
Bonus Read: Scroll through our reviews of the most handy garden tool bags of 2022.