Flower · Lamiaceae
When to sow wood sages
Upright violet spikes from early summer, and one of the best plants for bees in the whole border. Drought-tolerant, long-flowering and never needs staking.
Plant out
2 weeks after
Counted from your last spring frost.
First worthwhile crop
Year 1
After planting, not after sowing.
Hardy in USDA zones
4a to 9a
Winter cold sets the limit here, not the calendar.
Those weeks become real dates once you name a place.
Timing, in frost-relative terms
Seed packets rarely give calendar dates, because a date that suits one latitude is wrong at another. They give offsets from the last spring frost instead, and those offsets are what make wood sages plantable anywhere.
- Plant out 2 weeks after the last frost.
- Expect a first worthwhile crop in year 1 after planting.
- Hardy in USDA zones 4a–9a.
Getting the timing right
Plant out in spring after the last frost. Cut the whole plant back by half as soon as the first flush fades and it will flower again within a month, often twice more before autumn. Leave the final flush standing over winter as frost protection for the crown.
Frost tolerance
Hardy to -30C. Wants sharp drainage; winter wet is the main risk, and a plant on heavy clay is far more likely to be lost than one in poor gritty soil.
Classified as very-hardy, with damage expected below -30°C (-22°F)-22°F (-30°C).