Anyone have sage survive zone 5 winters?

A few weeks ago I found sage plants on sale for only 25 cents. So, I picked up golden sage, tricolor sage, and purple sage. When I looked it up, I found varying info on what zones they were hardy in. I believe that some said that two of them wouldn't make it and one would(can't remember which at the moment), but then I found vendors selling these sages and they said they were hardy to zone 5. So, I was wondering if anyone from my area has any experience with these and can tell me if I might have hope. I plan on mulching them well, and they are in a protected area from wind. I have my fingers crossed.

Thanks in advance,

Kristie

Kis~ my scarlet sage, salvia splendens, always return. It's located on the west side of our home.Now...the other salvias can be iffy in my yard, for example ...the mealy cup salvia has returned faithfully for 2 years until this year,..nil, nada, nothing, no sight of it anywhere! I also mulch my salvias and do not prune them until early Spring.

Take a look at the last 3 sages listed on this page from Big Dipper Farms...are those the sages that you have? http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchstuff.pl?Botanical=Salvia There's only one called 'Tricolor' so I know that one's right, but for the others there are other types of sage that are also called purple and golden so it makes it hard to know for sure which one you have. If those are your three, purple and tricolor are supposed to be hardy to zone 4 so they should be fine even without protection, and the golden one is only hardy to zone 7 so it's a lot less likely to make it no matter what you do. I'm also not sure if it's a good idea to mulch salvias over the winter--they can be prone to rot and piling mulch over them is going to hold moisture on them which could encourage problems. The ones that are hardy to zone 4 shouldn't need protection anyway. The other thing with any kind of sage is to make sure you have good drainage where you're planting them--being cold and wet all winter can make them a lot shorter lived than they would be normally.

Garden6, thanks for the info! I had heard that salvia can be iffy like you said your mealy cup one was.

Ecrane, yes, the last three are what I have. Maybe I won't mulch them now? I had also considered taking cuttings from them and keeping them inside during the winter, just in case...or maybe even digging some up. I suppose I could dig up the golden sage and bring it inside, although I don't have any windows that have direct sun. I don't know how well they would do in the house. But, I suppose they'd stand more of a chance than outside! Next time I buy a house, I will buy it with plants in mind!

Thanks for the help guys, hopefully my sage makes it through the winter, one way or another. I started an herb garden a few years ago, and after trial and error I'm hoping to get all perrenials in it so I don't have to mess with it. I had some tarragon in the spot where the sage is, and this year it got over 5 foot tall! It wasn't pretty at all, so I hacked it down, dug it up, and replaced it. I bought it from seed, so it wasn't the Russian tarragon, or whatever the true tarragon is. I can't remember. Either way, I never used tarragon and I almost fell over when it grew to be over my head. The day I chopped it down, my husband would come out to check and see if I had gotten lost in my "rain forest". I had to use a little hack saw. lol.

Kristie

Kristie, I think you shouldn't have any problems with the plants. I have had good luck with my sage for the past 8 years-I have culinary sage in an herb garden. It gets bigger every year and sometimes has purple blossoms on it. I have it planted in full sun on a southern slope and it does pretty well despite being in zone 5a. Make sure you have good drainage-sage prefers the soil on the dry side. I don't do any extra mulching. I don't cut anything back until spring after I see the new growth-if you cut it too soon, it seems to shock the plant. Good Luck!!
Deb

Thanks, Deb. I'll refrain from pruning the sage until spring. Does this make it bushier? Does it need to be cut at all? Thanks for the encouragement!

Kristie

Kristie, the sage looks pretty weather beaten after a long winter with lots of dried leaves . I usually trim everything up to shape it and get rid of the dead stuff-don't cut it all the way to the ground or the plant will probably croak....made that mistake the first spring. OOPS! Just trim it up so it looks neater....

Deb