Sage

Looking after it

Water: Sage copes with dry spells once it has settled. Water it in dry weather during the first year. After that, plants in the ground can take drought. In a pot, keep the compost just moist, not soggy. In winter, move the pot beside a wall, out of the rain. Feeding: It needs very little food. Don't feed plants in the ground at all. If a plant has been in the same pot for more than a year, give it a light sprinkle of general fertiliser granules in late spring or early summer.

Picking and keeping

Pick young leaves or whole shoots whenever you need them. Growth from spring and summer tastes best. Picking often keeps the plant bushy. Give it a light trim every year in mid to late spring. To dry sage, hang sprigs in a warm, dark, airy place. Then keep the leaves in an airtight jar. You can also chop the leaves and freeze them in an ice cube tray.

What can go wrong

• Rosemary beetle. Small beetles striped in metallic green and purple eat the leaves from late summer to spring. Their grey grubs do the same. Pick them off by hand or shake the plant over a sheet of paper.
• Leafhoppers. Pale, blotchy patches on the leaves come from small jumping insects that suck sap. The damage is rarely serious. Just pick off the worst leaves.
• Woody, straggly plant. Old plants grow long, bare stems with few leaves. Trim lightly every spring. Every few years, take cuttings from the soft new shoots in late spring to replace the plant.