Greek sage (Salvia fruticosa) is a bushy, silvery-leaved perennial sub-shrub from the eastern Mediterranean, grown as an ornamental and for its aromatic leaves. It needs full sun, excellent drainage and good air circulation, and it is very drought tolerant.
Family
Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Grows as
Shrub, Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out between waterings; it is very drought tolerant.
Soil
Well-draining, lean or sandy soil; avoid heavy, wet clay.
Temperature
Hardy to about -7 °C; protect from hard frost and wet winter cold.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
C. & E. Medit
Climate
subtropical
About
Salvia fruticosa, or Greek sage, is a perennial herb or sub-shrub native to the eastern Mediterranean, including Southern Italy, the Canary Islands and North Africa. It is especially abundant in Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon.
Where it grows
The species is native to the eastern Mediterranean, including Southern Italy, the Canary Islands and North Africa. It is especially abundant in Palestine, Israel, and Lebanon.
Uses
It has a long tradition of use in Greece, where it is valued for its beauty, medicinal value, and culinary use, along with its sweet nectar and pollen. Salvia fruticosa was depicted in a Minoan fresco circa 1400 BCE at Knossos on the island of Crete. The ancient Phoenicians and Greeks likely introduced the plant for cultivation to the Iberian peninsula, with remnant populations of these introduced plants still found in some coastal areas. In Ottoman Palestine, the flower's pollen was harvested by honey bees in the production of honey.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Salvia fruticosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.