Baby sage, also known as Salvia microphylla, is a popular herb garden plant that comes in many different varieties. With its fragrant foliage and colorful blooms, baby sage adds beauty and flavor to outdoor spaces. However, with so many cultivars available, it can be tricky to identify which variety of baby sage you have. In this article, I’ll share tips on how to identify different baby sage plant varieties based on leaf shape, flower color, growth habit, and overall appearance.
Check the Leaf Shape
One of the easiest ways to distinguish between baby sage varieties is by examining the leaves Baby sage leaves are typically around 1 inch long, but their shape can vary.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’ has rounded, heart-shaped leaves
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Salvia microphylla ‘Royal Bumble’ has elongated, pointed leaves.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Graham’s’ has wider, oval-shaped leaves.
Take a close look at the leaf shape and margins to get clues about the specific variety. Subtle differences in leaf form can help you identify different cultivars.
Examine the Flower Color
Flower color is another distinguishing characteristic of baby sage plants. While many have red, pink, or purple blooms, some varieties produce unique flower colors.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Cerro Potosi’ has bright pink flowers.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Blue Bedder’ has lavender-blue flowers.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Alba’ boasts white blooms.
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Salvia microphylla ‘San Carlos Festival’ has bi-colored red and white flowers.
Flower color can vary quite a bit between baby sage varieties, so take note of the exact hue to correctly ID different plants.
Analyze the Growth Habit
Baby sage plants exhibit different growth habits ranging from low and mounded to upright and bushy.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Maraschino’ forms a compact, dense mound ideal for edging beds.
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Salvia microphylla ‘La Trinidad Pink’ has a tall, vertical shape that works well in borders.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Raspberry Royale’ sprawls out as it grows, spreading up to 2 feet wide.
Observing how each variety grows can provide clues about its identity and help you select the right ones for your garden’s design.
Consider Overall Size and Appearance
Some baby sage varieties have distinguishing features beyond just leaf, flower, and growth differences.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Yaku Princess’ stays under 12 inches tall, perfect for containers.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Twilight Serenade’ has fuzzy, velvety foliage.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Pink Preference’ has purple-tinged stems and leaves.
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Salvia microphylla ‘Boule Blue’ is densely packed with blue-violet blooms.
Subtle nuances in size, texture, leaf color, and bloom density can set some baby sage varieties apart. Examining a plant’s overall appearance provides more identification clues.
Buy Plants with ID Tags
When purchasing baby sage plants from a nursery, choose ones labeled with the exact variety name for easiest identification. Reputable plant sellers provide tags, stickers, or pots marked with the plant’s botanical name and cultivar. Buying pre-identified plants takes the guesswork out of naming varieties.
Compare Leaf Samples Side-by-Side
To directly compare baby sage varieties, collect leaf samples from each plant and line them up next to each other. Seeing the different leaf shapes and textures all at once makes differences much more obvious. You can also match up living plants growing nearby for side-by-side analysis.
Monitor Growth Over a Season
Baby sage leaves and flowers look different depending on the time of year. Tracking a plant’s growth habits over a full growing season provides more identification clues. Does it bloom late? How big do the leaves get at maturity? Does it die back in winter? Watching development over months shows the full range of traits.
Consult Reference Photos
Many online plant databases have images of various baby sage varieties for comparison. Look at multiple pictures of each cultivar to familiarize yourself with key identification markers. Studying reference photos alongside your own plants makes distinguishing features more recognizable.
Take Detailed Notes
Keep detailed notes on key characteristics of each baby sage variety you grow. Include details like leaf shape, flower color, bloom time, height, and any unique traits. Detailed descriptions documented over the season serve as a reference to accurately identify plants year after year.
Ask Fellow Gardeners
Connect with other local gardeners that also grow baby sage plants. They may be able to help you identify mystery varieties based on experience with multiple cultivars. Gardening clubs or online forums are great places to get input.
With a bit of patience and some careful observation, identifying different baby sage varieties is very achievable. Pay attention to subtle differences in leaf shape, flowers, growth habit, and overall appearance to successfully tell these aromatic plants apart. Familiarizing yourself with key characteristics makes naming baby sage varieties a breeze.
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HARVESTING AND USING SAGE
Culinary Sages are best used fresh, either whole or ground, but they can be dried. For drying large amounts of leaves, wait until after the plants have grown back after pruning blooms. Wash the plants in the garden with a fine spray of water the night before; and the next morning, when the dew has dried, cut stems as long as possible without cutting into old wood. Hang these in bunches of three of four in a dark, dry, clean area. As soon as they are crispy dry, strip the leaves (whole, if possible) and seal them in an airtight container placed out of direct light. The flavor should remain potent for three or four months, hopefullyâ at least until spring brings fresh, tender leaves again. Besides the traditional use in stuffing, Sage is good with pork, sausage, other meats, and cheese. It is often combined with thyme and used with beans and in soups. Use Sage with fruits in vinegars; if the vinegar is a light colored elixir, try one of the variegated forms. The flowers make an attractive garnish in salads, butters, soft cheeses, and ice cubes.
Fresh picked âhandsâ of Sage tips can be used to make wreaths or tussie mussies. They dry well and have that heavenly Sage fragrance. Just one more reason to give Garden Sage a good size space in your garden.
Flavor, Flowers and Folklore
With so many elaborate ornamental plants, it is kind of surprising that the sage most of us are most familiar with is good old Garden Sage. Salvia officinalis is from Zone 5 through 11 and blooms profusely for about three or four weeks in spring. Planted in a row or in a block it is one of the prettiest of all the Salvias. Garden Sage easily grow s to three feet and has bluish purple flowers. Prune back beyond the flowers when the bloom is finished, taking care not to prune into wood that has no growth showing. The flowers make an attractive garnish in salads, butters, soft cheeses and ice cubes.
As mentioned before, Cleveland Sage is also culinary. Go easy though; it is very powerful.
Spice Jar Sage
Oddly enough the sage that is in the spice jar at the market is not S. officinalis, but rather S. fruticosa or Greek Sage. This Sage is hardy in zones 8-11 and that may be why S. officinalis is grown and used more in this country. Greek Sage can be grown as an annual and usually reaches about three feet each season. It is an odd twisted looking plant with exceptional flavor.
How to identify Salvia microphylla (Baby sage) – Drought tolerant sage
FAQ
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