When to sow wood sages in Shenzhen

Why these dates

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.

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.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Wood sages are timed with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Shenzhen.

Shenzhen sits in zone 11a, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

See every crop timed for Shenzhen →