SAGE (SALVIA): PHOTO, PLANTING AND CARE, MEDICINAL PROPERTIES

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Salvia, lettuce or sage is a well-known plant that has long been used in folk medicine on all continents. In the world there are several hundred species, many created by breeders. Long-flowering varieties are used in landscape design, they are often grown in cottages for decorative purposes, harvested as a medicine. For industrial production, oily varieties of salvia are bred, these are excellent honey plants. As a spice, sage is used by culinary specialists.

All wild-growing species and bred varieties have healing properties: antiseptic, softening, healing. The usefulness of sage has long been recognized as official medicine.

What is sage, description

Salvia is a grass, or rather, a direct growing, branched perennial shrub with a woody root from the family Lamiaceae. The homeland of sage is considered to be the Mediterranean, later it was cultivated in many mountain corners of the earth. It grows well on illuminated, sun-heated slopes, forest edges, rocky river banks. In nature, a plant propagates by seeds, grows in large plantations, occupying all the free space.

Varieties of sage differ in the shape of the leaves: there are plants:

with narrow, widening below the wedge-shaped smooth and serrated edges;
ovoid tuberous with wavy, serrated edges;
oval smooth with thickened edges;
growing from the trunk and on the handle from 1 to 3 cm.

The height of the herbaceous bushes reaches 1.2 meters, but there are low-growing species, not higher than 30 cm. More often the shrub grows to 50-70 cm, it branches well. The top of the stems, the leaves of some species are covered with white fluff.

The color of the plants varies from greenish-silver to reddish, flowers - from pale lilac to thick purple. There are varieties with red, bright blue, pinkish and white buds. They are collected in a spikelet and whisk. From a distance, overgrown sages are like colored hats, peduncles densely strewn with buds. Flowering time from a month to three, there are varieties that decorate areas from late spring to late autumn.

Salvia officinalis, oak and other species

The most popular varieties:

View (official name)	Description, plant height (cm)	Application
Meadow (Salvia pratensis)	Perennial herbaceous bush up to 50 cm high, branches from the middle of the stem; underside of leaves, flowering shoot with white sparse pubescence; the leaves are oblong, narrow, with notches, wide from the bottom, tapering upwards, growing in pairs from opposite sides of the stem, reaching 6 cm; an inflorescence in the form of an ear or panicle, appears in June-July, grows 20 cm; the color of the petals depends on the soil, light, from unsaturated blue to thick purple; the fruits are spherical trihedral, in the shell, dense, four-lobed, brown, up to 2 mm in diameter.	Used for medicinal purposes.
Medicinal (Sálvia officinális)	Shrub branching from the root up to 70 cm high; wedge-shaped leaves, up to 8 cm long, with a sharp or rounded tip; spike-flowering shoot, rarely paniculate, grows in June to 30 cm long, two-lipped flowers appear in late May-early June, more often a blue-violet color, less often pinkish-white; fruits are rounded, in the shell, dense, dark brown, with a diameter of up to 2.5 mm.	In addition to medicine used in cosmetology, serves as a source of essential oils.
Nutmeg (Salvia sclarea)	It grows up to 120 cm long with thick single stems; leaves are ovate or ovate-oblong with notches along the edges, expressed vein pattern, cuttings; panicled inflorescences of pinkish or white color reach 40 cm, completely covered with buds with false and cup-shaped petals; the flowering period is long, from the end of June to September; fruits are ellipsoidal, up to 2 mm in diameter, leathery, dense, gray-brown.	It is grown in industrial volumes for cooking, cosmetology; as a medicinal plant is used less often; grown for decorative purposes, like a honey plant.
Oak (Salvia nemorosa)	Grassy bush with shoots branching from the root from 30 to 60 cm tall, depending on the variety; wedge-shaped, expanded from below and pointed at the top leaves with jagged edges, small cuttings; spike-shaped inflorescence reaches 35 cm, densely sprinkled with blue or lilac buds with false whorls; the flowering period is long, from June to the end of September; the fruits are trihedral, spherical trihedral, dark brown, leathery, dense.	Grown for decorative purposes; can be used as a medicine.

In addition to these varieties, wild steppe and Ethiopian sage are found. Vegetable with fleshy large leaves specially bred for cooking. White is grown abroad as an annual culture, used in smoking blends, as it contains narcotic components.

Growing sage

A medicinal plant can often be seen in summer cottages. For those who do not have land allotments, it is easy to grow salvia in apartments. Healing leaves are useful to keep at hand.

Home breeding

ND sage has nothing to do with room violet. For growing plants on balconies and window sills in pots, low-growing varieties are selected, up to 30 cm tall. For planting, choose high clay 10 or 15 liter pots.

Plastic containers are not suitable for this, a developed root system will not breathe. Sage is placed on the eastern or western side of the apartment, it will be too hot with the southern plant, it will have to be shaded on sunny days. There is not enough light on the north side, it will be necessary to illuminate the sage in the winter so that the salvia is fragrant. The plant does not like drafts, comfortable temperature + 22 ... +25 ° С.

Soil is chosen with a pH of 6.5. Seeds are sown in soil without preliminary treatment, deepened by 3 cm, watered abundantly. The earthball is moistened as it dries. During flowering, watering is more frequent.

Country sage

Salvia prefers loamy and sandy soils rich in organic matter. Planting and care taking into account agricultural technology include regular watering, annual fertilizing with complex fertilizers, or adding humus to it. In open ground, planting is done after return frosts, when the earth warms up to +10 ° C. In moist areas with a high occurrence of groundwater, drainage is required - salvia is drought-resistant, poorly developed with excess water, the roots begin to rot.

Sage breeding options:

seedlings, it grows from 8 to 10 weeks, by which time a complete root system is being formed;
By cuttings, cut and germinate shoots in the spring, then drip in a shady place, transplanted to a permanent place after a year;
dividing the roots, the procedure for dividing the grass tussock is carried out in the fall;
winter-hardy species are sown in early spring or late autumn, with a distance between plants of at least 30 cm.

Sage responds well to autumn pruning, shrubs harder in spring, blooms profusely.

Diseases and Pests

Salvia is resistant to insect pests, they are scared away by volatile ether substances. The plant is used as natural fungicides, garden crops are treated with infusion.

Sage is susceptible to fungal infections. In rainy, cool weather, it is covered with powdery mildew. For processing use an infusion of fresh manure, whey or common preparations against powdery mildew. Topaz, Fundazole, Skor bred according to the instructions. Processing is carried out in the evening in calm weather. After processing, the plant can not be harvested for two weeks, the roots, leaves are able to accumulate toxins, it takes time to remove them.

From root rot, the biological preparation Fitosporin is treated. They dust the soil. Sanitary treatment on moist soils is carried out regularly to eliminate sources of fungal infections.

Mr. Summer resident recommends: sage - healer

Salvia is characterized by a high content of essential oils in all parts of the plant from roots to buds. In the leaves, depending on the species, from 0.5 to 2.5% of oily components in the form of borneol, camphor, and other esters. From them, when rubbing, a stable smell appears.

Other beneficial substances in sage:

tannins up to 4%;
alkaloids components
resins and paraffin components (up to 6%);
organic acids;
gum;
volatile;
plant enzymes;
B vitamins, ascorbic acid;
starch;
micro and macro elements.

Due to the complex chemical composition, sage has a number of medicinal properties. Leaves, roots, flowers are used for the preparation of pharmacological agents: decoctions, infusions, lotions, ointments.

Salvia components have:

antispasmodic effect, able to relieve headaches with a sharp pressure drop;
it is a lightweight diuretic and choleretic agent;
excellent antiseptic, disinfects and heals wounds;
expectorant effect, enhance the secretion of pulmonary fluid by mucous membranes;
anti-inflammatory and decongestant effect, improve blood microcirculation in tissues;
sedative, normalizes the production of hormones, contains magnesium in an easily digestible form, esters have a hypnotic effect.

Areas of use for the treatment of sage diseases:

Externally for the treatment of the oral cavity, throat, nasal passages with tonsillitis, rhinitis, otitis media, pharyngitis, inflammation of the sinuses (frontal sinusitis, sinusitis, tonsillitis). In dentistry, decoctions treat stomatitis, gum disease. Compresses relieve swelling with injuries, bruises. With external hemorrhoids, lotions are made, with internal hemorrhoids, a solution is introduced into the anus with a rubber bulb. Enemas are recommended for men with problems with the prostate gland.
For women, sage is used in the treatment of vaginal lesions: colpitis, thrush. The broth perfectly restores the microflora of the vagina, inhibits the growth of pathogenic microorganisms.
Internally, infusions and decoctions are recommended for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, they normalize the production of gastric juice, the outflow of bile, harmonize the intestinal microflora. Sage is a good helper for pulmonary diseases of an inflammatory and infectious nature, decoctions are used in the complex treatment of tuberculosis, pneumonia, bronchitis, tracheitis. For people with kidney problems, infusions are recommended to improve urine filtration.

With stressful overloads, nervous tension, salvia helps to sleep peacefully.

Side effects

Like any medicine, sage has a number of contraindications:
Individual intolerance. Essential components, resins, plant enzymes can cause an allergic reaction in the form of rash, spasms.
Asthma, severe chest cough. Reception of sage is possible only after consultation with the attending physician, the grass can cause an asthma attack.
Acute forms of genitourinary diseases, urolithiasis.
Dysfunction of the thyroid gland, sage stimulates the work of internal secretion organs.
Diarrhea. With dehydration, the diuretic effect of sage is undesirable.

Dosage Forms

The pharmacy chain sells fees with sage, plant materials, packaged in filter bags. The components are part of the tablets and cough syrups. Clary sage essential oil is produced, it is used for inhalation, for gargling. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the instructions, in a large concentration of resin and esters can cause burns.

Alcohol tincture is safer, it has a low concentration of components. It is used for the treatment of dental, ENT diseases, in gynecology, for the treatment of skin inflammatory processes, and in cosmetology.

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