Rocalba Sage

Information

Alchimia Grow Shop presents Rocalba Sage seeds, an aromatic and medicinal plant perfect to complement our garden or to cultivate in pots on the patio or balcony.

Rocalba sage, robust, aromatic, melliferous and allelopatic plant

Sage (Salvia officinalis) is a shrub plant that belongs to the Lamiaceae family. It is native to the Mediterranean area, although it has spread and become naturalised in many other countries worldwide, growing in rocky areas and dry pastures at different altitudes.

It is an aromatic perennial plant that can reach up to 60cm. It has a ramified and dense appearance with upright stems covered with soft hairs in which oval and elongated leaves develop. In spring the plant fills up with pink or violet flower clusters.

In spring the seeds are germinated in a seedbed. It must be protected from frosts, providing a temperature of about 18-20ºC. Three seeds are placed in each cell with a mixture of peat and worm humus. In about 3 weeks the seeds begin to germinate.

Rocalba sage, withstands cold, heat and drought, requiring few nutrients

Once the plant has germinated, it is kept in a warm and sunny place until it reaches a sufficient size to be transplanted outdoors (sometimes it is ideal to wait a whole season). Once it is transplanted, leave a distance of 60cm between plants and place it in the sun or in semi shade.

Although it adapts well to all kinds of substrates, it prefers loose and light soils which are neither very acidic nor clayey. The substrate has to drain the water well, preventing it from becoming waterlogged. When the plant is young it requires frequent watering. When the plant is developing it can bear drought, cold and heat well, so it should be watered from time to time in a light way to avoid possible fungal infections, in which case it has to be treated with fungicides.

Sage leaves and stems can be harvested all year round, by cutting a maximum of half of the plant just above the area where two leaves meet. During the first year, the harvest should be light so as not to exhaust the plant. The leaves are dried in a dark and aerated place to preserve them properly and use them for cooking or making infusions.

Rocalba Sage info:

• Sachet: 2g seeds
• Good results in both open ground and pots
• Germination: spring in seedbed
• Planting frame: 60cm x 60cm
• Up to 60cm
• Withstands cold, heat and drought
• Requires direct sunlight or semi-shade
• Benefits from light, drained, non-clayey soils with little nutrients
• Light and moderate irrigation
• Harvest: stems and leaves, leaving at least half a plant