What can I plant with sage in my garden? Sage is a common perennial herb plant and the leaf can be used for lots of things. It only takes 14 to 21 days to sprout and due to its growing requirement, it is often used as companion planting with many plants.
Sage is a great herb to plant in your vegetable garden due to its pest repelling attribute and natural means of attracting pollinators to your garden. However, not all plants are considered beneficial to sage.
There might not be any scientific evidence to back up companion planting but this method has been used by farmers and gardeners for centuries and they claim it to be very effective. Companion planting is a time-tested method that can be used to protect vulnerable crops and enrich your garden.
Sage is a great plant to have in your garden and companion planting with other crops can provide you with a healthy garden. Sage can grow into a bush hence there are some plants that thrive best when planted with sage.
Table of Contents
10 Best Companion Plants For Sage
Sage is easy to grow and it’s also a hardy plant and there are many ways you can incorporate this useful herb in your home. A companion planting guide tends to come in handy if you can’t decide what plant benefit which. So, to make sage planting an easier and more beneficial one for you, here are 10 companion plants to grow with sage.
1. Carrots
Sage is considered a good option to grow alongside your carrots as it helps deter carrot rust flies. As a companion plant, sage provides your carrot with many benefits, it can help repel pests that are damaging to carrots and also enhance its’s flavor.
2. Tomatoes
If your tomatoes are plagued with tomato hornworm, you can try planting it with borage and you can also have sage planted with them. Sage helps flea beetles and also attracts beneficial insects to tomatoes. Pair tomatoes with sage and cilantro too to help repel spider mites.
3. Parsley
Sage is one of the essential plant gardener’s plants near parsley. Parsley is another popular herb and it’s one of the few herbs you can pair with sage.
4. Strawberries
Strawberries are excellent companion plants with sage. Strawberries are often plagued with slugs and other pests but planting sage in close proximity can help deter them.
5. Rosemary
Rosemary and sage both flourish when planted together. Rosemary doesn’t get along well with many herbs but this is not the case when planted with sage. Try planting rosemary and sage together to help improve your garden and also magnify the health of sage.
6. Beans
Bush beans and pole beans are great companion plants to sage as they add nitrogen back into the soil thereby encouraging faster and better taste. However, gardeners don’t plant them too close to prevent them from stunting each other’s growth.
7. Thyme
Sage can grow very well alongside thyme. Thyme is a great companion in your vegetable garden to many plants, it tends to give more benefits than it receives. Sage and thyme are tolerant to sandy soil.
8. Nasturtiums
Nasturtiums are the best attractive flowers to grow near your sage. It is a great plant to plant near sage for controlling whiteflies.
9. Oregano
Herbs that like the same environment are better planted together hence you can plant oregano with sage as they have similar growing requirements.
10. Brassicas
The scent of sage can help keep pests that plague brassicas away. Plant sage near cabbage family members like kale, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, and kohlrabi. Sage help gets rid of brassica pests such as cabbage maggots, cabbage moth. black flea beetles and cabbage loopers.
What Not To Plant With Sage
Sage is one of the herbs that are very easy to grow and it’s tolerant to dry conditions but it should not be planted with herbs or vegetables that prefer rich fertile soil. Just like every other herb, sage does have some gardening enemies. Below are some of the plants you should keep far away from your sage.
1. Fennel
Fennel is a plant that isn’t really friendly with many plants and sage is one of them. It can stunt the growth of sage or cause it to flower too early.
2. Rue
Another plant to keep far away from your herb garden is common rue. It inhibits sages growth and it should be kept away from cabbage and basil as well.
3. Cucumbers
Cucumbers and sage do not do well planted in close proximity. Sage can stunt the growth of your cucumber so it’s best to pair your cucumber with plants such as catnip, tansy, dill, marigolds, or chives, which can help deter cucumber squash bugs and beetles.
4. Wormwood
Wormwood is a great companion in ornamental beds and it’s an herb that is useful in repelling whiteflies but it can harm sage. To get rid of whiteflies around sage, plant it with nasturtium flowers instead.
FAQs
Does sage spread in the garden?
Sage can spread if its’ planted in the right place. It tends to grow between 12 to 30 inches and when planted in the right place in a garden, it can spread over several square meters.
Do all sage plants flower?
There are different varieties of sage plants and they can be either perennial or annual, blooming to non-blooming but not all varieties are culinary. Sage flowers are borne of tall spikes and come in different colors which include purple, white, pink, and blue.
Is Sage an invasive plant?
Not all types of sage are invasive. The common type of sage that is invasive is the Meditteriian sage, it is an invasive biennial plant with square stems of up to 3 ft.
How do you know when Sage is ready to harvest?
Sage can be ready for harvest at almost any time. To get the best flavor when you harvest sage, it’s best to wait until the plant finishes flowering, and it is also possible to harvest as the plants are blooming and after.
Does sage like full sun?
Sage thrives in full sun and excellent drainage but also does well indoor or in containers. Be sure to keep it near a sunny window if you are growing it indoors though.
Does sage grow back every year?
Yes, sage is a perennial plant that is expected to grow back every year. It also has a reputation for reseeding itself.
Why is my sage dying?
Some of the common reasons for sage herb dying include over watering, under watering, too much fertilizer, or fungal disease. Sage is quite sensitive to moisture so overwatering is often the common cause of a dying sage.
Final Thoughts
Sage is an easy to grow plant but we recommend starting from a small plant to enable you to maintain it properly. Many plants thrive when planted in close proximity with sage but the key to a great companion planting result is a companion planting guide and do not overlook sage’s potential as a growth stimulator.
It can also be used as a natural form of pest control in your garden.
