Although sage moved into our gardens from the Mediterranean region, the herb plant is remarkably frost hardy. Without winter protection, there is still a risk of damage, which can easily be avoided with the following precautions.
How can sage be protected in winter?
In order to overwinter sage successfully, you should no longer harvest any shoots from mid/late August, protect the root ball from frost with leaves, straw or needles and protect woody shoots with fleece (€34.00 at Amazon) or jute envelop. In the bucket, it is also recommended to insulate the vessel and place it in front of a south wall.
Winter protection starts with the right harvest
There is a close relationship between harvesting and overwintering garden sage. To ensure that the evergreen subshrub can mature before the first frost, it should no longer be harvested from mid to late August. The remaining herb branches serve as natural protection against frost and snow.
This is how sage overwinteres he althily in the bed
Only in the mild wine-growing regions of Germany can winter protection be dispensed with outdoors. In all other situations the following precautions are recommended from -10 degrees:
- Before the first frost, cover the root ball with leaves, straw or needles
- cover the woody shoots with fleece (€34.00 on Amazon) or jute
It is important to note that the covers are permeable to air. Otherwise, condensation will collect here, causing rot and mold.
This is how sage gets through the winter in a pot
In the planter, the frost finds a much easier place to attack the root ball. To prevent it from freezing, take the following precautions:
- place a pot in front of the south wall on wood or Styrofoam
- Wrap the container thickly with bubble wrap
- cover the branches with a cap, like in a bed
Safe wintering in the house – this is how it works
Not sure if your sage is a hardy variety? Then moving to winter quarters comes into consideration. Choose a bright room with cool temperatures of up to 10 degrees Celsius. Heated living spaces are unsuitable because sage cannot cope with the discrepancy between high temperatures and a significant lack of light.
Tips & Tricks
Potassium-based fertilization from July noticeably increases the frost hardiness of sage plants. Among the plant manures, comfrey in particular has a natural potassium content, ideally enriched with charcoal ash and rock dust.