Purple Sage

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGreat, AngelicaFair and AniseGood nearby.

🌼 Beneficial companion — draws Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

that help control Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

,

on neighbouring plants.

Growing from seed

Start Purple Sage indoors about 8 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in cooler soil (around 10–18 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 21 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 45 cm apart. Expect to harvest in roughly 90 days.

Purple Sage seed rarely stays viable beyond a year — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  Maypop
  

  MaypopExcellent pair

  • ❧Maypop attracts Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Purple Sage
  • ❧Purple Sage draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
• 
  Gai Lan
  

  Gai LanGreat pair

  • ❧Gai Lan attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Caterpillars and more that attack Purple Sage
  • ❧Gai Lan suppresses pests that trouble Purple Sage
  • ❧Purple Sage draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both
• 
  Sainfoin
  

  SainfoinGreat pair

  • ❧Sainfoin attracts Ladybugs and Parasitic wasps and more, which prey on the Aphids that attack Purple Sage
  • ❧Sainfoin fixes nitrogen in the soil that Purple Sage feeds on
  • ❧Purple Sage draws Bees and Bumblebees and more that improve pollination for both

How to grow Purple Sage

1. Sow8 weeks before frost
2. Germinates21 days
3. Space45 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~90 days

Water: Low · Height: 60 cm · Soil: Well-draining, sandy, slightly alkaline — drought-tolerant