Clary Sage Salvia sclarea

LATIN NAME: Salvia sclarea

COMMON NAME: Clary Sage

The clary sage raises its tall, branching spikes of the hooded, white and pink flowers, and the large, wrinkled, softly hairy leaves fill the base of the plant. The upright, robust, biennial or short-lived perennial plant carries the large, oval, wrinkled, softly hairy, grey-green leaves and the tall, branching spikes of the hooded, two-lipped, white, pink and pale-blue flowers with the showy, coloured bracts through the early summer, one of the fine, bold sights of the border, drawing the bees. The plant has a long record in the old practice of the herb garden, and it is a fine, historic presence of the border. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The clary sage is a historic subject of the plant science, and the hooded spikes keep showing up in the work on the aromatic sages. The way the tall, branching spikes of the hooded, two-lipped flowers form with the showy, coloured bracts has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the aromatic sages, the bee plants and the members of the mint family. The wrinkled leaves and the robust habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the clary sage is a regular subject of the work on the hooded spikes of the early world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The clary sage is a fine, bold plant of the border and the herb garden. The tall, branching spikes of the hooded, two-lipped, white, pink and pale-blue flowers with the showy, coloured bracts open through the early summer, one of the fine, bold sights of the border, drawing the bees, and the plant has a long record in the old practice of the herb garden. It is one of the fine choices for the border, the herb garden and the study collection, and it has been written about in the horticultural and the botanical papers for the hooded spikes and the long record of use. It is a fine, bold plant of the open, sunny, deep, well-drained garden.

Give the young plants the deep, well-drained bed, and the hooded spikes will rise in the second season.

To grow the clary sage from seed, sow the small, brown seeds across the surface of the tray of fine, gritty soil, without covering them, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings appear within a couple of weeks and grow on steadily. With the sun and the deep, well-drained ground, the hooded spikes will rise through the early summer.

Handsome and attractive herb is aromatic with pale-purple flower spikes. Leaves are often distilled and/or used as a fixative in potpourris. The seeds soaked in water were once used to make an eye bath and hence its name "clary" or "clear eye." Reaches full potential the second year.