Silver 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 AniseFair nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Silver 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 60 cm apart. Expect the first blooms in roughly 365 days.

Keep track of the seeds you own.

Companion Planting

• 
  French Marigold
  

  French MarigoldGreat pair

  • ❧French Marigold attracts Hoverflies and Lacewings and more, which prey on the Aphids that attack Silver Sage
  • ❧French Marigold suppresses pests that trouble Silver Sage
  • ❧French Marigold acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Silver Sage
• 
  Clover
  

  CloverGreat pair

  • ❧Clover fixes nitrogen in the soil that Silver Sage feeds on
  • ❧Silver Sage draws Bees and Bumblebees that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Clover acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Silver Sage
• 
  Bird's-foot Trefoil
  

  Bird's-foot TrefoilGreat pair

  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil attracts Ladybugs and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids that attack Silver Sage
  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil fixes nitrogen in the soil that Silver Sage feeds on
  • ❧Bird's-foot Trefoil acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Silver Sage

How to grow Silver Sage

1. Sow8 weeks before frost
2. Germinates21 days
3. Space60 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~365 days

Water: Low · Height: 90 cm · Soil: Well-draining, sandy — drought-tolerant