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Common Sage

Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2006
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by tkhooper on October 03, 2006 05:31 AM
Hope someone can help me with this. I have 3 common sage plants that the roots are intertwinned on. I have them in the same pot and their leaves keep turning black and crispy. Lots of new leaves take their place but still I never get to harvest. The single sage plant isn't doing that. Can someone tell me what is going on and if there is a way to fix it?

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by Deborah L. on October 03, 2006 07:05 AM
Just take the whole shebang out of the pot and slice the 3 plants' root ball into 3 separate plants.
Then pot each in its own pot, or toss the least healthy ones.
They're just root bound is all. No worries !
The leaves are blackening because the plant isn't "breathing".

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by tkhooper on October 03, 2006 11:40 AM
Oh, thankyou so much for the information. I was completely stumped. I thankyou and my sage thank you. It's alittle late this evening but I'll get right on it tomorrow when I have better light.

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by Deborah L. on October 03, 2006 02:47 PM
YW ! I'll bet they'll be OK !

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by tkhooper on October 04, 2006 08:10 PM
I did it! lol. I'm such a chicken. But I got them separated. Hopefully all three will survive. I think they will. They came apart really easily this time. Possible the root balls had started to shrink because of the lack of air? I don't know. I just know that all three are in their own pots now and hopefully they will be very happy.

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by Deborah L. on October 05, 2006 02:40 AM
Good, TK ! Now keep the roots moist but not drowned. I bet they make it ! [thumb]

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by tkhooper on October 05, 2006 03:28 AM
I hope so. I really want this one to stick around. Like most cooks I use a lot of sage and it would help if I could grow my own lol.

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by Deborah L. on October 05, 2006 04:05 AM
In stuffing? Mmmmmm....

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by tkhooper on October 08, 2006 10:44 PM
The Sage is very happy. I got it out of the clay and separated from it's siblings and I only have one left that is still turning black. Hopefully it too will recover. All the rest are growing new growth. the leaves are getting bigger and the plants are standing up rather than growing along the ground so I'm very happy. Hopefully within a year or two they will be pretty producing bushes that I can be proud of.

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by Vera_M on November 09, 2006 09:22 AM
I love my common Garden Sage!! My seed sown plants were nice bushes come year two so hopefully yours will too [Big Grin]
Mine are in the ground though....very little water in sandy/gravelly soil. The hotter the sun the better.

Vera
by tkhooper on November 09, 2006 10:03 PM
Well come summer I can definitely do a lot of sun and heat lol. I'm so glad they survived and are doing well. I look forward to seeing them bush out. And of course harvesting the leaves. I go through a lot of sage when I'm in the mood to cook.

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by comfrey on November 15, 2006 09:41 AM
I have one that is 2 years old now...I first placed it in a large landscape type pot and buried the pot in the garden, then in the early spring I pulled the pot out of the ground so that the garden could be tilled, It is still in that pot sitting in a flower bed where I had planned to remove it from the pot & plant it in the ground, I'll try to get a picture of mine, it is not big and bushy like it should be, but still has plenty of leaves, and I love fresh sage..nothing like it, esp for stuffing or even to add to other things. One thing you should know...any of the stems that are woody/older should be cut out each year to make it form new stems.

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by tkhooper on November 15, 2006 09:07 PM
Thankyou comfrey,

I'm glad you added that information about the stems. I've been cutting my basil way back and trying to thin the existing branches because I went a little to far with the pinching back when it was small lol. It go so full it was difficult to get in side and pinch off the buds lol. But I'm learning to prune. And maybe in a year or two I'll actually be able to thin when that is necessary. (Well that may be optimistic but I'm working on it.)

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by comfrey on November 16, 2006 02:56 AM
Well no picture today it is raining and flooded here, so as soon as it quits raining & I can get out there to get a picture, I'll post it.

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by tkhooper on November 17, 2006 02:52 AM
Thanks Comfrey,

It's raining cats dogs and elephants here too.

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by comfrey on November 18, 2006 12:06 PM
Finally I have pictures, Keep in mind that this plant is in regular dirt and kind of clay mixed in, it gets no attention, maybe water once in awhile if I remember, and the reason I am showing it, is so that everyone can see that yes it can be grown in a pot without any care, hopefully I can get it in a permanent place in the ground this spring. Then I can show you what it should look like, It should be bushier & taller.
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Here is the view looking down at it:  -

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by tkhooper on November 18, 2006 08:31 PM
Do the leaves stay green all year? I just pruned mine and now I'm drying the leaves in the microwave. I wish my nose wasn't so stopped up. But I can still smell my hands from the harvesting. Mne are babies compared to yours. Mostly because I didn't ammend the soil enough so they really didn't grow this year. But since I've put them in part compost and brought them in the house they are growing better. Thankyou for your picture. I can see that it's going to be very full come spring time.

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by comfrey on November 19, 2006 05:49 AM
Yes the leaves do stay green all year around, It is a Hardy Perennial in zones 3-10. The soil that my one plant is growing in is not good soil, I dug the dirt up out of the yard and it was kind of clay mix soil, it was a temporary fix until I could set it in the ground in just the right spot, [Big Grin] but that was 2 years ago & as you can see it is still in that pot in that bad dirt, I think I'll start a new plant when I start seeds, and set it into the ground and collect all the leaves from this one and pitch it, I think it is about every 4-5 years that you really need to start a new plant or at least divide the one you have growing, which you can start more from cuttings.

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by tkhooper on November 19, 2006 08:26 PM
They are that short lived huh? I'm glad you told me that. I'll have to put their retirement date in my garden journal so I know when to start new ones. I'm suprised by how much I need to harvest in order to get a significant amount when they are dried. I guess I need to start new ones in year three of the parent plants life so the new ones are mature when the old ones give up the ghost. Thanks for the information. That's really important to know. I just added the information to my files. Thanks again Comfrey.

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by comfrey on November 20, 2006 01:03 PM
quote:
Originally posted by tkhooper:
They are that short lived huh?
Its not that it is short lived...it just becomes so woody that it needs to be divided or start a new plant. When it is growing in the ground it produces so many more leaves, and is not in its prime until the second year, once you have a well established plant you would be amazed at the harvest results. When I had one plant in the ground...it was 2-3 foot wide and about that same size in height....And I would cut it way back and the harvest was a very large amount, and you could harvest from it at least twice or three times in a season. But I also enjoy being able to harvest a few fresh leaves when every I want esp in the colder months. The scent of it may not be pleasing to all, But I do like the scent and the taste of the fresh sage.

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by tkhooper on November 20, 2006 06:59 PM
I love the smell. And the smell of the oregano in the bathroom. Unfortunately my nose is so stuffed I haven't been able to smell it in over a month. Other than when I harvest that is.

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by 4Ruddy on November 22, 2006 11:19 AM
TK...how do you dry your herbs in the microwave? I have never tried that. My sage did better this year than ever and I am thankful to have a ton of it for the holidays. But I always air dry my herbs...so I am interested in how you go about drying them in the microwave...thanks

~V~

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Happiness, like a dessert so sweet.
May life give you more than you can ever eat...
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by tkhooper on November 22, 2006 11:34 AM
I have a cheap microwave so it takes about 3 minutes on hi with mine. But it's best to start with one minute for regular thickness of leaves and 2 minutes for thicker leaves.

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by comfrey on November 22, 2006 09:48 PM
quote:
Originally posted by tkhooper:
I have a cheap microwave so it takes about 3 minutes on hi with mine. But it's best to start with one minute for regular thickness of leaves and 2 minutes for thicker leaves.
I must say that this is a fine way to dry sage for later use in cooking...But if you are saving sage for medicinal purposes...do not microwave it to dry it, dry the old fashioned way.

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by tkhooper on November 22, 2006 11:34 PM
What are the medicinal uses?

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