Sage companion plants will give your aromatic herbs some extra nutrients and also keep them safe from a lot of pests. There are many companion plants for sage that can form a mutual relationship, deter some pests and make your garden more beautiful, so we have prepared a list of the best ones for you.

Growing Sage Companion Plants

Read this article to learn about all the cool companion plants that will not only help your sage cultivation but also enrich your garden.

👩🏻‍🎓 Scientific Reference

“A study conducted by the University of Illinois shows that companion planting can reduce pests and diseases by 22%.”University of Illinois

9 Types of Sage Companion Plants To Add to Your Herb Garden

Some good companion plants for sage are:

1. Carrots

Growing Carrots Plant in Pot

Uses and Benefits
  • Do not disturb your sage’s roots
  • They give you sweet tubers
Growing season
  • Start: Spring
  • End: Fall
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Loamy or sandy, well-drained
  • Light: Full sun
  • Temperature: 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Aphids
  • Carrot rust fly
  • Carrot weevil

The thing about growing plants with sage is that it is the companion plants that will gain more from the relationship. When growing sage and carrots together, the sage plants help carrots to grow free from carrot rust flies and some other pests.

As you can see, companion planting favors carrots. Well, there are some things that you must put into consideration.

While sage is a good companion plant for carrots, it may block sunlight from reaching the carrots. This is why you must properly space the plants. While planting the carrots and sage, ensure that there are at least 12 inches between their seeds (for carrots) and cuttings (for sage).

2. Strawberry

Fresh Strawberry on Plant

Uses and Benefits
  • Produces sweet fruits
  • Enhances the growth of your sage
Growing season
  • Start: Spring
  • End: Early fall
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Sandy loam, well-drained
  • Light: Six to ten hours daily
  • Temperature: 50-80 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Aphids
  • Cutworm
  • Cluster caterpillar

Another plant that will heavily benefit from its companionship with sage plants is the strawberry. Sage plants can help to repel many pests that attack strawberries. Also, growing your strawberry plants close to the sage can help to enhance the taste of the strawberry fruits. Growing sage near strawberries also benefits the sage.

As delicate plants, strawberries need a lot of care like properly mulching them, feeding them and using raised beds.

This means that you’d have to extend the care to the sage, as they are companions of the strawberries. This is why sage growing with strawberries and other plants has enhanced growth.

3. Tomatoes

Potted Tomatoes Plants

Uses and Benefits
  • Enhance the growth of your sage
  • Give you sweet fruits
Growing season
  • Start: Late spring or early summer
  • End: Fall
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Loamy, humus-rich
  • Light: At least eight hours of daily sun
  • Temperature: 55-85 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Cutworms
  • Powdery mildew
  • Budworms

Just as in the case of strawberries, sage plants gain a lot from their tomato companionship because of the proper care you show to the tomatoes, as these are delicate. Sage plants also help to repel pests such as flea beetles.

You just need to plant the sage near the garden edges so that pests will not enter the garden.

Sage can also help to attract some beneficial insects such as butterflies into the garden and these insects will help to pollinate the tomato plants flower and sage plants flowers. So long as both plants benefit from ideal growing conditions, they will be just fine and help each other.

4. Rosemary

RosemaryPlants in Garden

Uses and Benefits
  • Enhances the flavor of your sage
  • Gives you more herbs for your kitchen
Growing season
  • Year-round
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Sandy or loamy
  • Light: Full sun
  • Temperature: 68-86 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Spider mites
  • Leafhoppers
  • Aphids

Do you want to grow a plant that is similar to sage? Plant rosemary, as both of these grow well together. Both plants will give your garden a cool scent and they collectively repel harmful pests from the garden.

While they act as pest control, they also give you rich herbs for cooking and using for medicinal purposes.

You can grow either sage or rosemary between the rows of the other. All you need to make sure is that every plant in your garden gets just the right amount of sunlight so that no plant suffers from the lack of light.

5. Broccoli

Broccoli in Vegetable Bed

Uses and Benefits
  • Gives you edible leaves
  • Enhances the growth of your sage
Growing season
  • Start: Spring and fall
  • End: Summer and winter
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Fertile, well-drained
  • Light: At least six hours of daily sun
  • Temperature: 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Cutworms
  • Flea beetles
  • Diamondback moth caterpillars

What if you grow your sage for its aroma and a leafy green plant as well so that you can enjoy sweet vegetables? Luckily, broccoli and other plants in the cabbage family (Brassicaceae) are compatible with and can even help your sage grow healthier.

Plant sage and broccoli together so that the former can repel some pests while you care for the sage just as you’d care for broccoli.

Well, take note of access to sunlight when growing both plants together. To ensure that both plants get enough light, give them 12-24 inches of space when planting them.

6. Cabbage

Cabbage Growing in Filed

Uses and Benefits
  • Gives you edible leaves
  • Enhances the growth of your sage
Growing season
  • Start: Spring and fall
  • End: Summer and winter
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Fertile, well-drained
  • Light: At least six hours of daily sun
  • Temperature: 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Cabbage root maggots
  • Cabbage loopers
  • Cabbage webworms

Cabbage is very similar to broccoli and is compatible with sage as well. Sage plants help to repel some pests of cabbages such as cabbage worms, cabbage loppers, cabbage moths, cabbage maggots and black flea beetles.

Sage can also enhance the flavor of cabbage leaves, especially if you grow them very close to each other.

Before growing cabbages and sage too close to each other, consider their lighting needs, as they both need full sun daily. Also, note that both plants need a lot of nutrients, so you should regularly feed them with nitrogen-rich fertilizers.

7. Peas and Beans

Farming Peas and Beans

Uses and Benefits
  • Enhance nutrients in your garden
  • They give you sweet seeds
  • Used as animal feed
Growing season
  • Start: Spring
  • End: Fall or winter
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Any type, well-drained
  • Light: Six to eight hours of daily sun
  • Temperature: 66-85 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Whiteflies
  • Powdery mildew
  • Bean weevils

We have been listing plants that benefit the most from their companionship with sage. Here are plants that sage benefit from the most. Beans, peas and other types of legumes help to boost the soil nutrients so that you do not need to give your sage more nitrogen when growing them. These plants are in a symbiotic relationship with bacteria that help to fix nitrogen in the soil.

Sage plants grow healthier and have richer herbs when they get enough nutrients, so growing them with legumes is a great idea. As an extra tip, do not dispose of the bean or pea plants after harvesting their seeds. Instead, turn the plants into the soil and let them rot, as they will release even more nitrogen into the soil.

8. Cauliflower

Close View of Cauliflower

Uses and Benefits
  • Gives you edible inflorescences
  • Enhances the growth of your sage
Growing season
  • Start: Spring and fall
  • End: Summer and winter
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Fertile, well-drained
  • Light: At least six hours of daily sun
  • Temperature: 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Cabbage whiteflies
  • Flea beetles
  • Cross-striped cabbage worms

Just like cabbages, brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli and others, cauliflowers are in the Brassicaceae family and make good companions for sage plants, as they can both grow comfortably in the same garden bed. Cauliflower needs a lot of feeding and other forms of care, so your sage will gain a lot from the relationship. Also, sage will repel cauliflower pests from the garden.

Just in case you see your sage dying when growing them with cauliflower, check the soil nutrition, as cauliflowers consume a lot of nutrients. So long as you can properly feed both plants, and their leaves have access to enough sunlight, they will grow without any problems.

9. Clover

Fresh Clover Plants

Uses and Benefits
  • Enhances soil nutrition
  • Attracts beneficial insects to your garden
Growing season
  • Start: Spring
  • End: Fall or winter
Care Requirements
  • Soil: Any type, well-drained
  • Light: At least six hours of sunlight
  • Temperature: Over 60 degrees Fahrenheit
Common Pests
  • Slugs
  • Powdery mildew
  • Eelworms

Just like beans and peas, clover is a legume that can enrich the soil for your sage plants. You do not need an extra source of nitrogen for your sage when you are growing them with clovers. Also, clovers attract beneficial insects such as predators to some little insect pests in the garden. Clovers also attract pollinators to pollinate flowers in the garden.

Note that clovers can be invasive plants, especially if you do not control their growth. Clovers grow rapidly, so be sure to cut them regularly so that they do not cover the sage. So long as you can cut the clovers often, you have nothing to worry about when growing clovers and sage in the same garden.

Conclusion

Planting sage will surely be easy for you now, as you know the best plants to grow it with.

Here are some reminders for you:

  • Legumes such as clover, peas and beans can enrich the soil by adding extra nitrogen to your sage plants.
  • Sage helps to repel a lot of pests, so they make great companions to plants such as tomatoes, strawberries and others.
  • Always remember spacing and light when growing multiple plants together.
  • Remember that cabbages, broccoli and Brussels sprouts are related and need crop rotation, so do not use them as companions for your sage plants too many times in a row.
  • You can always grow your sage near the edge of your garden and grow the other plants in the middle so that the sage can prevent pests from entering the garden.

Ensure that you remember this companion planting guide for your sage when searching for the right ones to grow with your sage.

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