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Last edited by shiny on November 10, 2026. View history

Salvia

Salvia
Also known as sage (EN) common sage (EN) sauge (EN) Salbei (EN) mariyamiya (EN) salie (EN) salva (EN) shalfey (EN) ching-chieh (EN) Salviae folium (EN) Salviae herba (EN) Aetheroleum salviae (EN)
3
plantings
0
harvests
0
seed packets
Growstuff is a free, community-run site for people who grow food. Keep track of what you plant and harvest, find seeds to swap, and see what is growing near you. Join to record your own salvia.

Salvia facts

Lifespan

Annual living and reproducing in a single year or less

Days until maturity

80–90 days median of members' seed packets
Optimal temperature 15–26 °C
Absolute temperature 5–30 °C
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal rainfall 500–1000 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 300–1500 mm/year
FAO EcoCrop
Optimal soil pH 5–6.5
Absolute soil pH 4.2–8.3
FAO EcoCrop

Crop cycle

120–240 days
FAO EcoCrop

Max altitude

1000 m
FAO EcoCrop

Optimal light

very bright
FAO EcoCrop
What are growing degree days?

A plant grows with warmth, not with days. A growing degree day is one day's worth of useful warmth: how many degrees the day's average temperature is above the lowest temperature the crop grows at. Add them up from planting and you know how far along the crop is, whatever the calendar says.

Say that lowest temperature is 10°C. A day averaging 17°C gives 7 growing degree days. A day averaging 8°C gives none, as it is too cold for the crop to grow. That is why the same lettuce takes about 50 days in a summer and 90 in an autumn: it needs the same total warmth either way.

For salvia, the FAO EcoCrop database gives a lowest growing temperature of 5°C and a shortest growing cycle of 120 days at its best temperature, about 1860 growing degree days to a first harvest.

Where you've told us where your garden is, we use this and the weather there to predict when your salvia will be ready to harvest. We don't use it for how long a plant lives or when it finishes: we go by what members have logged for that.

How members grow salvia

Sunniness

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Planted from

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Varieties of salvia

Image of baby sage

baby sage

Salvia microphylla
Image of chia

chia

Salvia hispanica
Image of clary sage

clary sage

Salvia sclarea
Image of greek sage

greek sage

Salvia fruticosa
Image of pineapple sage

pineapple sage

Salvia elegans
Image of sage

sage

Salvia officinalis
Image of white sage

white sage

Salvia apiana

Photos

Salvia crops

Salvia plantings

20170924_112749
20170924_112749
by shiny
2026-11-11_06-25-16
2026-11-11_06-25-16
by shiny
IMG_0406
IMG_0406
by shiny
2026-10-28_09-24-28
2026-10-28_09-24-28
by shiny
IMG_20261025_113916
IMG_20261025_113916
by shiny

Salvia harvests

20170930_162625
20170930_162625
by shiny
IMG_20191223_184358
IMG_20191223_184358
by shiny
IMG_20191027_114931
IMG_20191027_114931
by shiny
IMG_20180128_160047
IMG_20180128_160047
by shiny
DSC00626
DSC00626
by shiny

Where salvia grow

Only plantings by members who have set their locations are shown.

What people are saying about salvia

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Image of salvia

Who's planted salvia

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Salvia harvests

Nobody has harvested this crop yet.

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Find salvia seeds

There are no seeds available to trade on Growstuff right now.

Time to harvest

If sown now, expect a first harvest in about 120 to 240 days.

From the growing cycle in the FAO EcoCrop database, which is the same wherever it is grown.

Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Salvia officinalis

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Asteridae
Lamiales
Labiatae
Life form sub-shrub
Life span perennial
Habit erect
Optimal soil depth medium (50-150 cm)
Optimal soil texture medium
Optimal soil fertility high
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours)

Learn more about salvia

Resources outside Growstuff.