How to sow the seeds of Salvia Canariensis (also known as Canary Sage)

• A seed tray with a transparent lid
• Coconut fiber soil
• Perlite
• Salvia Canariensis seeds

If you’re a more adventurous gardener, or if you’re (like me) painfully frugal ;-), you can easily grow Canary Sage from seed. The Salvia Canariensis seeds can be simply grown in seed trays or small containers. (Larger containers stay moist longer, increasing the chance that a fungus will kill your seedlings).

If you use coconut fiber blocks, you can easily moisten the blocks by placing them in a bucket of lukewarm water. I use about 3 liters of water per block to prevent the soil from becoming too soggy. The advantage of coconut fiber is that it’s clean and contains the right fungi and bacteria that promote seed germination.

To germinate, simply sprinkle the Canary Sage seeds on the surface of the soil and moisten them with clean water from a spray bottle. Set the spray to mist to evenly moisten the soil (if the soil is no longer moist). The seeds need light to germinate and germinate best between 20° and 30°Celsius. Keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. (That mister is the perfect tool for this). Put the transparent lid on the tray and place it in a bright spot. Air the tray briefly every day by loosening the lid.

Germination should take two to three weeks, and you will see the seeds start to sprout. If you chose a seed tray, consider transplanting the new sage plants into pots once they have developed their first few true leaves. These ‘true’ leaves follow the appearance of the “seed leaves” during germination.

Maintain your sage pots until autumn, then transplant them to their final location.

Once your sage has established itself for a year or two and is growing vigorously, you can harvest the leaves by pruning the top growth of the plant. Prune just above a “node,” a joint in the stem where leaves grow. Sometimes those nodes will already produce side shoots on their own, but sometimes they wait for your careful pruning to stimulate those side shoots.

Don’t immediately bundle those leaves unless you live in the desert ;-). Dry the leaves for a few weeks first. This helps prevent the leaves from developing mold, which nobody wants.

One last idea: if you really want to grow Canary Sage the old-fashioned way, scatter those seeds on the soil in the garden plot you have in mind. Many of the germinating seeds will be eaten by insects or other animals, but with enough seed, you will probably still have more sage than you need. Have lots of fun and good luck!

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