I’ll never forget the first time I saw clary sage (Salvia sclarea) in bloom. I literally stopped in my tracks. I’m a big fan of salvia and these were the largest salvia flowers that I had ever seen. It was difficult to believe that this was an herb and not an ornamental plant. Herb plants don’t normally have such showy flowers.
Clary sage is also known as Eye Bright or Clear Eye. This stems from its ancient use in helping to remove foreign bodies from the eyes. The seeds have a mucilaginous coat which is sticky. When you had something in your eye, you would place a clary sage seed in your eye. The idea was that the seed would stick to whatever was in your eye making it easier to remove. I DO NOT recommend trying this.
Other medicinal uses for clary sage in the past included treatments for digestive issues, sore muscles, menstrual issues, insomnia, kidney disease and anxiety.
Nowadays the essential oil of clary sage is used to flavor vermouths, wines and liqueurs. It is also used in aromatherapy. Personally, I don’t find the scent of clary sage to be pleasant. It has kind of a musty smell.
Clary sage is deer resistant. The leaves are hairy and heavily scented, both of which deer dislike. Like a lot of herbs, it also attracts beneficial insects, including butterflies.
Clary sage is a biennial or short lived perennial native to the Mediterranean area, North Africa and Central Asia. It is hardy in zones 5 through 9. Grow it in full sun and well-drained soil. The plants are drought tolerant but grow best when watered regularly. The first year the plants grow a basal rosette of leaves that can be 2 to 3 feet wide. The second year, they send up a flower stalk that is 2 to 4 feet tall. The flowers are lavender and white. Bloom time is early summer. If you remove the flower stalk before it goes to seed, you may be able to coax another year or two out of the plants. Most gardeners allow the flowers to go to seed because it readily self-sows in the garden, assuring you of flowers for many years to come.
If you are not lucky enough to have clary sage in your garden already, it is easy to start it from seed to add to your garden. You can direct sow your seeds in your garden in the fall in warmer areas or in the early spring in colder areas. Sow the seeds ¼ inch deep and 1 to 2 inches apart. Germination should occur in 10 to 14 days unless you are sowing your seeds in the fall, in which case they will not germinate until the following spring when the soil has warmed to 70⁰F to 75⁰F. Thin the seedlings to 12 inches apart.
You can also start your seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost. Sow them in soil that is 70⁰F to 75⁰F. You may have to use a heat mat. They need the warmth to germinate because outdoors, the seeds are produced during the summer when both the soil and the air are warm. Sow the seeds ¼ inch deep. Germination should occur in 10 to 14 days. You can transplant your seedlings into your garden after your last frost. Space them 12 inches apart to give them room to grow.
Remember – you won’t see any of those spectacular flowers until the following year. Clary sage blooms during its second year of growth.
26 Comments on “Clary Sage”
I just fell in love with these and can’t find the plant Anywhere. I’m in Chicago Zone 6. I’m assuming that it’s too late for me to start from seed by sowing in the soil? It’s still very cool, rainy and I don’t see 60’s coming for another week or so. Thank you for answering.
Katrina, it’s a little late to be sowing clary sage seeds outdoors, but I recommend trying it. The main thing is soil temperature. Clary sage likes cool soil. If your weather has been anything like mine here in NJ (also zone 6), it has been unusually cold this spring so the soil is still cool so your seeds might germinate. Otherwise, wait until the fall and sow them to germinate in spring 2021.
For herb plants I highly recommend https://thegrowers-exchange.com/
They are probably out of stock for this year, but you should get to know them.
I believe Sow True Seeds still have the seed packets available at: https://sowtrueseed.com/search?q=Clary+sage
Growers exchange has Clary sage plants.
I’m zone 6 – am starting my seeds on a heat mat today. I’m hoping I’ve still got time to get them up so they can go in the ground later in Spring/early Summer and get flowers next year?
Thanks! – and thanks for all the herb advice here; very much appreciated!
Musette, it’s not ideal to start your seeds this late but I think it will work out for you. Good luck!
Clary sage may be deer resistant when they have leaves, but… they are NOT deer resistant during the winter. Last year the deer decimated my row of clary sage, by digging up the roots with their hooves and eating the roots. Out of 20 some plants, I now have only three that survived and this was only because I put wire on top of those three, so they couldn’t dig them. Apparently, they are really tasty! Deer act this way to with my day lilies too.
Just saying…
The term “deer resistant” means that deer don’t normally eat that plant. Unless it is poisonous like daffodils, they will eat resistant plants when there is nothing else to eat. I’m not surprised that the deer were eating your herbs during the winter. That is a time of severe food shortage for them so they grow desperate and will eat just about anything. I have lost herb plants to deer during the winter myself.
I started a little too many clary sage seeds and now have 5 plants of it lol any advice for uses of the leaves, dried and fresh? Do you know how to make your own clary sage oil?
I am not an herbalist. My website is about how to grow herbs.
I have seedlings started indoors and are growing well, when do you recommend planting out in zone 5b?
It depends. Hardy plants can be transplanted into your garden after your last frost date. Tender and tropical plants need to wait until the soil warms which is probably early June in your area.
Hello,
As a member of the Herb Society of America, I tend several fragrance beds in a historical herb garden. I have a large bed of second year Clary Sage blooming but something is eating holes in the leaves. At first I thought it might be slugs but don’t see any trails. I see in your picture, your leaves have holes. Have you any idea what might be doing this damage?
Thank you for your advice.
Marie Hale
run4hale@yahoo.com
The most common pest for clary sage is caterpillars. I’m assuming that you haven’t seen any. If it’s not slugs or caterpillars, then it can be any of a myriad of insects. Spray your plants with neem oil. It’s my go-to for plant diseases and pests.
Thank you for the advice.
Can it be used to treat eye scratches?
I am not an herbalist so I cannot advise you.
Hi!
I was just doing a hardiness check on the clary sage. I grew one listed as annual ‘blue’ salvia viridis some under lights last year. It was more cold tolerant and a faster grower than expected. Filled out and covered itself in blooms quickly once it got transplanted. In mid August/Sept when it was winding down, I noticed that some fallen seeds had sprouted.
Been keeping an eye on them. We just had some single digit temps and they seem to be just fine! Really thought it would simply be an annual for me here in southern Ohio.
Would love for these to survive. The parent plants didn’t.
Could it be because they had such an early start?
Wonder if I should protect the small plants outdoors in any way.
I’ll definitely, start more and be sure to scatter more seed from them this coming season. They were also lovely as a cut flower!
Clary sage is a biennial. The parent plants did not die, just the foliage. The roots stay alive during the winter. The foliage will grow back in the spring. The seedlings survived probably because they are growing in a protected spot or the soil is warmer than the air. I would cover them with some straw, but if they die, don’t despair. It’s probably just the foliage dying. The roots are most likely still alive underground and will sprout again in the spring.
Growers Exchange sells top- notch Clary sage plants.
Every year I grow Clary Sage and they mostly never make it to return the next year. The soil drains well but wondering if I should move the mulch aside and put pine needle around them for the winter? Last I planted on a slight slope hoping they would survive. Don’t think they did. Zone 6a.
Please don’t use pine needles. They will make the soil too acidic. Clary sage is a drought tolerant plant that likes to stay dry. You may be over-watering it. I grow it in a xeriscape which I never water and it grows great.
I am trying to find dried French Sage – Do you know where I would be able to find it for sale online?
Mountain Rose Herbs?
I met a lovely Croatian lady who had a garden packed with Clary Sage. Look how many she had! (I hope I can post this picture….) I couldn’t ask her how to grow because I don’t speak Croatian, but I was curious enough to discover the name of the plants and how to get seeds by posting in on-line garden chat rooms. These plants look a little different from yours in your posted pic. They are so unique and lovely. I was able to get one seed to grow this summer into a ‘basal rosette’. If I can keep it alive all winter, I’m assuming I will get an actual plant with flowers by next summer, and hopefully more seeds. I know it needs full sun and maybe a little winter protection. I am in Zone 5 (Central MA). How do you think I should winter protect?
(/tried to cut and paste the photo – it wouldn’t let me…) Thanks for any advice,
Debra
There is no need to protect clary sage in the winter. It is hardy in your climate. If you put down something like straw, it may cause crown rot.