How to Grow and Care for Pineapple Sage

Crush the leaves of Salvia elegans to enjoy a refreshing, fruity aroma, mixed with hints of traditional sage. This fragrance is where the plant gets its common name, pineapple sage, but the strength of the scent differs depending on your region's climate. This late-blooming, fast-growing shrub is a warm-zone perennial and part of the expansive mint family (Lamiaceae). In cool regions, you can still enjoy this plant, but only as an annual or when grown inside.

Its striking dark, bushy foliage works in beds or borders. It's a winning and easy-to-establish herb garden addition (the leaves and flowers are edible), and hummingbirds love the late-blooming, drooping scarlet flowers. Pineapple sage grows well in large containers on patios. Grown in pots it can be moved indoors to overwinter and enjoyed for a second season the following year.

How to Grow Sage

Pineapple Sage Care

Pineapple sage is a frost-tender perennial, so it's all about getting this plant a warm, sheltered, and sunny spot—especially if you want to appreciate the eye-catching flowers. Because it can grow large (up to 5 feet tall), it might need staking if you don't keep on top of pruning and pinching.

Light

Pineapple sage is a plant that needs plenty of sun to thrive. Direct, full morning sun with a little light afternoon shade produces great tasting foliage.

Soil

The plant adapts to a variety of soils. Fertile, consistently moist soils high in organic matter produce the best results. Pineapple sage won't do well in soggy conditions, so a free-draining medium is crucial.

Water

Although pineapple sage has some drought tolerance, the foliage starts to wilt and curl up if your plant is too dry. Even moisture throughout the growing season ensures healthy foliage and prevents leaf drop.

After planting, you might need to water several times times a week, moving to weekly once it settles in, depending on your region's weather and moisture levels. Keep an eye on your plant, and if you notice wilting or curling, that's a sign you need to increase irrigation.

Temperature and Humidity

Hard frosts cause pineapple sage to die back to the ground. However, if you live in one of the plant's suggested hardiness zones, cut it back in winter, and mulch around the roots in the fall, it should grow again in the spring. Generally, it tolerates temperatures down to around 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fertilizer

You won't have lots of commitments in terms of feeding your pineapple sage plant, providing you plant it in fertile soil. Amending poorer soil with organic matter or compost in the spring should be enough to ensure vigorous growth.

Types of Pineapple Sage

There are a few pineapple sage cultivars you can look out for. Check out the ones below for inspiration:

• Salvia elegans 'Honey Melon': If you're looking for a pineapple sage that blooms a little earlier in the summer and has a more compact growing habit, this could be the cultivar to choose (it doesn't grow higher than 3 feet). It's great in small gardens in cooler northern regions, and it gets its name from the melon-like fragrance of the crushed leaves.
• Salvia elegans 'Scarlet pineapple': One of the most widely available cultivars, this plant produces an abundance of large blooms, with a red tinge on the leaf edges.
• Salvia elegans 'Tangerine': As the name suggests, this variety produces a more citrus-like fragrance. The foliage is smaller, and the flowers are darker and earlier to bloom than in the standard species.

Pruning

If you want to keep your pineapple sage neat and compact with a dense, bushy habit, it's best to pinch young tips. Annual pruning of the older, woody branches in late winter or early spring helps encourage new, healthy growth. Wait until after a hard frost, as leaving the woody stems on the plant can help protect it from any cold spells.

Propagating Pineapple Sage

Propagation is easiest using tip cuttings, or divisions. Cuttings have the best chance of success when you take them from new shoots with foliage rather than woody stems with flower buds. The cuttings usually root easily when placed in water or a moist rooting medium for new plants—there's no need to dip the tip in rooting hormone first.

Don't put your rooted cutting outside until the soil is suitably warm in late spring. Any late frosts will kill off tender new plants.

How to Grow Pineapple Sage From Seed

Because of their sensitivity to cold temperatures, it's always best to grow pineapple sage from seed indoors or in a greenhouse (unless you can guarantee very warm soil temperatures while the seedlings develop).

Seeds germinate within a fortnight. However, don't transplant seedlings outdoors until they are at least 8 inches tall and any danger of frost has passed. In fact, if you are on the colder side of the acceptable hardiness zones, it may be best to keep your pineapple sage in the greenhouse for their first year, and then you can plant them out the following spring when they are mature and hardier.

Common Pests

Pineapple sage is popular for its deer resistance and the fact that it isn't bothered by too many pests. However, aphids, mealybugs, and spider mites are sometimes attracted to this plant (as they are to many members of the mint family), especially in greenhouse environments.

How to Get Pineapple Sage to Bloom

These cold-sensitive, late-season bloomers have beautiful foliage that contrasts well with other colorful perennials, but the flowers (that are similar to honeysuckle) are particularly striking. However, you'll only get to appreciate the tubular, scarlet-red blooms on the pineapple sage in warmer climates when grown outdoors.

The flowers can grow to be 2 inches long and typically bloom in late summer and through fall (usually from August to October). When grown in greenhouses or indoors, they may flower right through to early spring, but cooler outdoor winter temperatures bring the bloom season to a close.

The flowers are attractive to pollinators, particularly hummingbirds and bees, and are a great late source of nutrition when food sources become scarce.

Getting the balance right with irrigation is crucial to seeing an abundant bloom, as are warm temperatures and plenty of sun. However, these are short-day flowering plants which means they won't do well where they get a lot of bright, artificial light in the fall that extends their day.