Salvia Species, Elegant Sage, Pineapple Sage

On May 13, 2019, hamptons from Watermill, NY wrote:

When I bought this plant the tag said it was a hummingbird favorite & that it was a summer bloomer, so I planted it in my hummingbird garden. Foliage got huge, but where I live, hummingbirds leave in September and this plant didn’t bloom until October. Waste of space for me.

On Sep 14, 2015, RxBenson from Pikesville, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:

Believe it or not, when in Greenfield NH (Zone 5) mine died back in winter, but sprang back in spring. The secret must have been the raised bed and full sun.
In the Baltimore (7A) area last year, mine fizzled at a puny foot-high non-blooming state and winter-killed. This year's new one gets full sun from noon until sundown and is four-foot tall and loaded with buds (finally!) today.
We have totally changeable weather here, with infrequent terrible winters (to -20) and either saturated or droughty springs and summers. One day we're an apparent Zone 8 and the next we seem to be a Zone 5, so one never knows what will survive...
Let's see if this one is alive and well come spring 2016....

On Apr 2, 2014, nbaltz from Phoenix, AZ (Zone 9a) wrote:

In Phoenix, this plant grows very well and far exceeded our expectations. The foliage always stays a deep green and blooms throughout the year. The superior winter blooms make this plant a magnet for the hummingbirds. We have our Pineapple Sage planted in almost full Arizona sun and it seems to perform very well even during the summer months, regardless of watering conditions. It seems this plant prefers a lot of sun with warm climates and to stay on the drier side. The leaves provide a slight pineapple aroma.

On Jul 23, 2013, purplelady45 from Palm Beach Gardens, FL wrote:

Have this plant in my pollinator garden and i can tell is beautiful !

On Nov 12, 2012, ratchell26 from Jacksonville, FL wrote:

I started all of my pineapple sages from 1 gallon pots. Two I started in May and they bloomed for a few weeks right after I put them in the ground. In July I planted 3 more. They are very thirsty plants and even with our wet summers, I had to make sure they were well watered. I didn't get any blooms during the summer, but in October they started to bloom. I am happy to report that there are more blooms than leaves right now! The yellow sulfurs as well as 3 or 4 other species of butterflies LOVE them! I'm going to take some cuttings from them this winter so I can plant more of these in the spring. They are huge, but well worth it when you have to wade through butterflies just to get past the bush!!

On Jul 21, 2011, prettyitup from Moss Point, MS wrote:

My pineapple sage is going thru it's third summer here in my yard. Sadly for me, Iv've had to beg it to not die. After

reading on the tag that it would be happier on the drier and sunny side, I planted it in spring under the overhang in

unimproved slightly sandy soil on the west side of our shed...it Survived that winter without mulching but was very

near death by the following summer. I then moved it to a site that gets morning sun and afternoon shade

and improved the soil in the planting hole with composted leaves and then fertilized...it only perked up slightly, didn't

grow and only made a couple of sad blooms that fall. Again it died to the ground the following winter but came back fine

... read morein the spring but only grew to about 10". It's now July 2011
(it's 3rd summer here) and hot and humid in s. MS and again

it was near death so last month I moved it to a shadier and
more moist bedand cut it back a little. It is looking better

than it has since it's first year but still only about 8 inches tall
and the leaves are a light green color rather than a healthy

dark green. I think one of the other posters is correct in saying that it doesn't like the heat I really want this plant to do

well for me as I love that pineapple scent of the leaves when they're brushed and the vivid red blooms that come in the

fall. I will definitly keep trying to find a place that makes it happy...I do not want to lose this one.

On Jan 11, 2011, Sonnenblume from Aurora, CO (Zone 5b) wrote:

This was my first year growing Pineapple Sage. I bought a small starter plant in early June 2010 from a local garden center and planted it in my Aurora, CO backyard. It got watered along with the lawn so it flourished well in semi-shade even though its a dry climate here and it does soak up quite a bit of water but is carefree. It grew huge in one season. We had a long Indian summer in CO this year and frost came late some time in October just after it started to bloom so I covered it for a few nights during the first frost as it got warm one more time and then potted it up in the largest pot I could find and brought it inside to the southern exposure living room where it happily kept on blooming for about 2 weeks then dropped the blooms and the leaves started to develop a brown ridge aro... read moreund them so it was not so pretty anymore as its dry inside the house. A mister or humidifier would help. I pruned it by about a third and harvested some of the big leaves for tea and the blooms for decoration of dishes (they taste sweet) but left it standing and watered it generously and now it has developed many small fresh leaves while dropping most of the big old leaves and I removed the rest of the old leaves gradually (gently, they came right off without scissors ) so it looks appealing and healthy again like a new plant, growing in the middle of winter (Jan 2011) while we have snow outside. When it blooms its just gorgeous! I plan on planting it back outside this spring or at least take the pot outside. The only thing I missed was hummingbirds visiting as they had already left my vicinity by the time the Pineapple Sage was in bloom. This plant is memorable so it was worth the extra time and effort of bringing it inside and its easy to grow. I imagine that in a warmer zone it may grow too much but on the other hand you do not have to bring it inside. It grows into a bush in one season and the blooms are a pretty red.

On May 6, 2009, DenaBolton from Johnson City, TN wrote:

I grow this as an annual in my Zone 6 area of East Tennessee. This is one of my all-time favorite herbs with which to cook. I use it in almost everything -- chicken, fish, vegetables, herb oils. I have also found that it freezes well at the end of the season, which leaves it tasting fresher than if I dried it.

On Oct 19, 2008, straea from Somerville, MA (Zone 6b) wrote:

This has been my first year trying pineapple sage in my cold-winter, xeriscaped, windy garden. It's grown quite well, getting fairly tall by the end of the season, with no need for supplemental water. However, it has yet to bloom here. I've read many times that in cooler climates, pineapple sage usually starts to grow faster and then starts blooming late in the season, and that you can then pot it up and bring it in and it will keep on blooming indoors, so when it started growing more rapidly about two months ago, I expected it to bloom soon. However, I've yet to spy so much as a bud. I'm not sure why, as I planted it back in late spring (after last frost) and it's gotten good sunlight all season and has seemed very healthy the whole time as well. I came to this this page to check wh... read moreat temperature will kill it to know how soon to pot it up. I'm going to try bringing it inside now that it's getting cold here and seeing if it starts to bloom.

I'm giving it a Positive instead of Neutral rating mostly because I've been so delighted this year to have the scent of pineapples released into the air every time I brush the plant when working near it in the garden. I think it's worth planting for that alone, for people who love fragrance in the garden.

(A note regarding a comment below about pineapple sage not being drought tolerant in a container: No plant is drought tolerant or xeric in a container. For a plant to be truly drought tolerant or xeric, it has to be planted in the ground. My pineapple sage has been thoroughly drought tolerant in my xeric, poor-soil, windy garden.)

On Jun 18, 2008, fleurdeelee from Trinity, AL wrote:

This plant has been enjoying southern exposure, by the deck for the past three years. The soil was enriched with a good fertilizer based potting soil. It grows about 4 feet by 4 feet and loads up with red blooms in October.

We whack it down through the winter, but it happily sprouts up lots of new stems in spring and grows like mad. Those sprouts will quickly have aerial roots at the base. If the 3 foot sprouts are snatched off from the base root, then the aerial roots will easily allow the detached stem to take hold and grow. The soft fuzzy green leaves look pretty next to the cool blue-green leaves of the siberian iris.

It is a fantastic hummingbird plant. In our area it is surviving the winters, but some our other pineapple sage in less protected lo... read morecations have not survived the North Alabama winters. Anyone hoping to have it survive zone 7a winters, might want to be sure to try it against a southern wall. Cutting it to the ground in fall and adding a mulch layer might also be helpful.

On Jan 10, 2008, ival from Arlington, TX wrote:

I have grown this for years here in Arlington, Texas, for the fragrance and brilliant red autumn flowers. Here it must usually be grown as a tender perennial and rarely survives winters. Also it is very sensitive to drying out and to soggy soil or overwatering. Nonetheless, it's well worth growing, as a successful planting produces a brilliantly flowered butterfly magnet with very pleasant pineapple-scented foliage.

On Aug 29, 2007, passiflora07 from Fern Park, FL (Zone 9b) wrote:

I just replanted mine in a bigger pot. I thought I was doing everything right, but days after I repotted, the leaves started turning brown. Now, three weeks later, it is completely dead....so sad :(

On Jul 3, 2007, thetripscaptain from Durango, CO wrote:

I have grown one of these in a big pot every summer now for the past 3 or 4 years. It has come to be one of my regular favorites. In SE WI (53402) it is an annual only plant unless you can keep it very brightly lit indoors (such as with a HID grow lamp) which I don't bother to do...

Anyways, this plant is one of the last of the year to flower, which is nice because after most everything else is done, I've still got flowers to look forward to.

The hardest part with it is that it needs a fairly heavy amount of watering when it is in a pot and the weather is hot and sunny. It seems to lose quite a bit of water through its leaves. Other than that it's a pretty simple to grow plant.

Oh and one more thing, the biggest problem that I encounter with... read more these is that they seem to be susceptible to wind damage... A windy day will sometimes snap branches off, and sometimes even the thicker branches towards the bottom break off, causing a large portion of the plant to be lost. Last year (2010) I grew this as usual, only we had a windy day in September, and the entire plant broke off, right at the ground. The root system was intact, but it was too late in the year to grow it back to flowering size. This year I am going to be more conscientious of the wind damage factor, and bring it indoors or up against the side of the house where it is shielded from the stronger wind gusts.

On Jun 14, 2007, CodyMody7890 from Reno, NV (Zone 6a) wrote:

This is a great plant for its smell and foliage. It smells and tastes like pineapple ! Great plant; I'm not sure about its hardiness, but a few of my neighbors have them from a few years ago and they're doing great!

On May 2, 2007, pinkypetunia from Poplarville, MS (Zone 8b) wrote:

I love Pineapple Sage! It is one of the first things to show green in spring here and grows beautifully all summer. By the time it blooms in late Aug. early Sept., it is huge! How beautiful it is covered with bright red flowers that the hummingbirds can not resist. I love to sit in my garden and watch them swarm the plant. I also love to show visitors to my garden how to crush the leaves and smell the fresh pineapple smell. It is so easy to propagate as well, I have new plants come up voluntarily every spring. If you get a chance to grow this plant, you should it gives oout nothing but pleasure.

On Apr 23, 2007, jawharpqueen from San Francisco, CA (Zone 10a) wrote:

Pineapple sage blooms all year long in my backyard here in San Francisco. I have spread it by simply sticking cuttings into the ground... It also reseeds like crazy; there are many new plants growing nicely now in late April under my oldest one (2+ years old.) This oldest one is floppy, but I tie it to the fence. The lower stems are woody & bare now, but the new young ones beneath it are almost tall enough now to cover the old one's bare lower stems. The hummingbirds love it - I see and hear them so often, sipping from its long scarlet blooms. The scent is so fantastic, too. Such a wonderful plant.

On Dec 27, 2006, pal2k9s from Lake Arrowhead, CA (Zone 8a) wrote:

I have two groupings of three plants each in different areas of my garden. One group has part shade exposure, the other has full sun (morning sun, afternoon shade). The full sun group grew to about 4 feet tall, and began blooming in October. The part shade group grew to about 5 feet tall and began blooming in late November.

I love that this plant blooms so late in the season. When everything else is going dormant, the Pineapple Sage really shines. The bees and hummingbirds sure do appreciate these flowers- there are not many flowers available on other plants in late fall.

In my garden, these plants like a good deep drink once a week, although if the weather is hot, they will let me know that they're thirsty by dramatically drooping and curling their leave... read mores. In the hottest part of the summer, it's not unusual for them to need to be watered 2 or 3 times a week.

On Nov 17, 2006, Marilynbeth from Hebron, KY wrote:

I love Pineapple Sage, but it's not hardy here, have to plant it every year. Love the flowers and the scent of the leaves. Have to start planting it in the ground, maybe it would bloom sooner, because I have been planting it in 20" containers. Wish it would bloom alot sooner too and longer for my area.

Summer of 2006, I had 'Golden Delicious' Pineapple Sage and the red Pineapple Sage in potted containers. 'G D' is beautiful also!

On Oct 19, 2006, pspady1210 from Kernersville, NC (Zone 8a) wrote:

I love my Pineapple Sage here in Fayetteville, NC. I have started it from little shoots around the base of the plant. I have three in my yard and plan to share with others. This year it seemed a bit leggy; however, so was the coleus. No big deal ... it is blooming now and I'll let it collect leaves then mulch it. Next year, I'll probably try a little fertilizer as I didn't fertilize at all this year. I'm also going to try to put it with various velvet sages. This year I had the pineapple sage growing about two bush lengths away from a purple velvet sage and decided right then and there that next year, they will be together ... the colors will be outrageous! I'll put some red velvet with it.

On Sep 23, 2006, pegdog from Winchester, VA (Zone 6a) wrote:

I grew pineapple sage in my zone 6a/b. I planted it near my house foundation, slightly protected by a lilac. It died back but popped right up in the spring. It is now doing great in its second year. Mine is much larger than 48"!!! In 2005 it got to 3.5' and this year it is about 4' tall by 2' wide. I tried one in a container, but it never returned and didn't do as well as when in the ground.

On Aug 12, 2006, LindaTX8 from NE Medina Co., TX (Zone 8a) wrote:

Lovely plant but requires more watering than I give my garden. Constantly wilted in hot weather.

On May 27, 2006, starr56 from Roma, TX (Zone 9b) wrote:

I live in deep south Texas where its hot most of the year and for Spring I got 7 little pots of Red Salvia and I can say they are flowering and doing pretty good under the Sugarberry tree..something I did not think it was going to do.

On Mar 30, 2006, MandevilleJim from Mandeville, LA wrote:

In the late summer and fall, into early winter or the first good frost, one cannot have enough pineapple sage to take care of the passing mummers and b-fly's, and native b-fly's, moths, wasps and bees, and and who knows what all else. Comes back - usually - from the roots in the spring, esp if mulched or otherwise protected. My best is enmeshed with rootbound cocosmia. It tends sometimes rot in our winters that are wet, drainage is not good, a characteristic of lots of plants on the northshore of New Orleans. Pineapple sage has done better than any other savia species for me, even surviving being smothered by hundreds of pounds of pine tree tops from Katrina, and subsequent drought. It has not seeded for me. Although it is not native to this area, I consider it a welcome guest.

On Dec 11, 2005, CastIronPlant22 from Lompoc, CA (Zone 10a) wrote:

I love this sage! Its very aromatic and i love it better than the other sage plants. To me it was hard to find and when i found it, it was in a 6 inch container, early spring. I plan to buy more this coming spring, if i can find any. EVERY garderner should own at least one of these.

On Oct 19, 2005, zemerson from Calvert County, MD (Zone 7a) wrote:

Two thumbs up positive!! This plant did spectacular for me and what a surprise when I looked out my window and saw bright red blooms! I just had to brave the bughaven and go outside to snap some pictures! Awesome smell too!

On May 18, 2005, Gindee77 from Hampton, IL (Zone 5a) wrote:

This plant grows as an annual here in my zone 5 garden and is very aromatic. It's leaves are great flavoring in tea or cooking. The flower spikes bloom in late summer to early fall and are a pretty red color.

On May 15, 2005, Kauai17 from Leander, TX (Zone 8b) wrote:

Pineapple sage is one of our favorite herbs in the garden. It has a vibrant green leaf and then sprouts a beautiful red flower. When you rub the leaves together you get a great aroma.

On Apr 16, 2005, zzazzq from Madison, MS wrote:

Great plant here in central MS. I do not cut the stems over the winter and it has returned for 6 years....it grows to be a five+ foot shrub by the end of the year and blooms in fall, and is spectacular. I grow it in a part shade, part sun situation. I does seem to self-sow and sometimes I'll find another plant in a nearby container.

On Jan 26, 2005, pokerboy from Canberra,
Australia (Zone 8b) wrote:

I love the colour of the flower of this plant and I love the fact that it tolerates dry soils. Tough and hardy. Like most Salvias. pokerboy.

On Oct 10, 2004, KMAC from Co. Cork,
Ireland (Zone 9a) wrote:

Love the smell of it. The stems can be brittle and often break in strong winds. In some winters it has no problems with frosts, but in colder winters it gets knocked back.

On Aug 26, 2004, weedville from Marcus Hook, PA wrote:

Has grown well in compact clay soil that has poor drainage. Smells great!

On May 24, 2004, purplepetunia from Savannah, GA (Zone 8b) wrote:

this plant has come back after dying to the ground thru the winter. It is very full, about three or four feet wide and tall. It has spread and I have already divided it into four plants.
The red flowers are beautiful. Last summer it grew to about six feet tall. I have it planted in an area that stays somewhat moist. I have put one of the new clumps in a dry, full sun area to see how it does.

On May 8, 2004, jreamy from Toledo, OH wrote:

I've had pineapple sage growing in my garden for several years. I have it planted in full sun and cut it back every fall and give it a blanket of either leaves or mulch after the first freeze. In the spring, when the rains start, I pull the leaves/mulch away and it springs right back to life. I have a fairly compacted clayey type soil but that doesn't seem to bother it.

On Nov 3, 2003, suncatcheracres from Old Town, FL wrote:

My pineapple sage grew quite well through our cool and rainy Northcentral Florida, zone 8b, Summer this year, and is now gloriously in bloom in late October and early November. The heavy Summer rain made the three-foot-tall stems flop over, and they have now rooted, making a three foot square plant that started out last March as a small, 8" tall seedling bought from an herb booth at a plant fair.

I have grown this plant before in Florida so knew what to expect. The plant is just covered in brilliant red flower spikes that can be seen from across the garden. It is a butterfly magnet, especially for Cloudless Giant Sulphurs.

This sage will root in water, so it is easy to have them all over the garden. My one current large plant is in a perennial bed near a B... read morerown Turkey fig tree underplanted with several different iris, with red antique roses on a trellis in the background, and other herbs, such as parsley, lovage, and valerian, all within a border of white flowered garlic chives. But the flowers of the sage can compete with even the wine red roses!

On Aug 17, 2003, xyris from Sebring, FL (Zone 9b) wrote:

I grow lots of this plant. It is easy to propagate from cuttings or by division of its own self-rooting offshoots. It overwinters for me in pots under my outdoor deck in Bremerton, Washington, and actually flowered all last winter. It doesn't start putting on its best flowering until October or later.

In Florida, it does best in winter and early spring, and is not happy during the hot and humid summers.

On Jun 11, 2003, Lavanda from Mcallen, TX (Zone 8a) wrote:

Hummingbirds smother this plant with attention when they discover it in bloom.

On Jun 9, 2002, Johngl wrote:

Rub a leaf, then inhale the authentic smell of pineapples! Of all the aromatic plants this one must surely be the best. Fresh leaves can be put into summer fruit salads, used to decorate desserts or be added to jams, jellies or cream cheese for flavouring. Use dried leaves for potpourri mixes or for herbal butter and teas. Or just enjoy its beauty; in early summer the tender serrated deep green leaves are reward enough. But towards autumn the plant blooms with vivid, velvety tubular scarlet flowers. They have a mild flavour but can be used as decoration or garnish with food. In its native Mexico this plant attracts humming birds.