Salvia verbenaca it is a plant well known for its medicinal properties. Its common name is gallocresta and it belongs to the Labiatae family. In this post you can learn the characteristics of this plant, the necessary care for its cultivation and the wonderful medicinal properties it has.
Do you want to know everything about this plant?
Key features
This sage has a size that can exceed 50 cm in height. Its leaves are mostly simple and are arranged in the form of a rosette. It is dark green in color and has lobed and serrated margins. The inflorescence has bilabiated flowers that are quite showy due to their blue and lilac color.
As for the fruit, it is presented with a subglobose nucula of a blackish brown color. It is also well known for its characteristic scent of the sage genus. Its texture is hairy.
We can find it on the margins of many roads, in grasslands, rockier soils and in abandoned fields.
The word salvia comes from Latin and is associated with health. Its benefits are known capable of promoting a general well-being of the whole body. In women, its beneficial effects are enhanced as it relieves pain in menstruation. It is relaxing to take and if it is drunk in an infusion it can act as a restorative.
Requirements of the Sage verbenaca
La Sage verbenaca it can be had at home, but requires some requirements. It is nicknamed the queen of aromatic plants. So if we want to enjoy it at home and watch it grow, we have to be attentive to its needs.
These plants adapt to many types of soil. However, their Mediterranean origin makes them grow better in drier and calcareous lands. If we want its growth to be optimal, we will use this type of soil.
They can be planted in pots, but they need very large pots with plenty of soil. They must be of a depth between 30 and 40 centimeters. This is because of its long roots. To be comfortable and spread well, the pot should be larger. You can buy the seeds or cuttings at any florist or garden store. The best option for its speed and efficiency is to plant it by cuttings. This forces us to have the plants in smaller pots and then take the cutting in a larger one. In this way, we will have better control over the growth and stages of the plant.
La Sage verbenaca needs plenty of sunlight and heat typical of the Mediterranean climate. Thanks to this, we can place them on the terraces and balconies to get the sun.
As for the soil, it needs a lot of nutrients and has a clay texture. In it, every month we will enrich it with minerals and organic substances. This extra contribution will give you the vitality you need to grow strong.
Its watering should not be abundant so that the sage can enjoy the light in a dry environment. We can perfectly wait for the soil to dry for a few days to water again.
How do I plant the cuttings and seeds?
To plant the cuttings or seeds, you have to take into account some guidelines. The first is the time of year in which we will plant it. The best time of the year is in spring. Thanks to the higher and more pleasant temperatures, its growth and flowering will be faster. It needs less humidity and summer time.
If we decide to plant it in seeds, we will need some small pots. Once the plant has grown and the first cutting has come out, we transplant it into a pot with the measures mentioned above. It is important that the land has a good drainage system, so we will have to condition the pot for it. It is enough to put a little gravel so that the water does not accumulate and can escape underneath more easily.
The substrate must be paid with ecological compost. It is advisable that it be rich in potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. When you plant the cutting, make sure the root is completely covered. It is the most important part of the plant and the one that will reach the greatest depth. An indicator that the pot is not deep enough is that the roots will be bundled into the soil.
Watering it once a week is more than enough. Although it prefers dry climates and high temperatures, it is recommended to protect it from the wind. The ideal place to place it is where it receives sunlight and without wind. For example, behind a window.
Medicinal properties
Phytotherapy experts say that it is best to collect the leaves of the Sage verbenaca before the flower comes out. In this way we will have it ready. If we use them all, we can keep them in a cool and dry place where it won't get light. Once they are dry, they are stored in a glass jar for when we need them.
Among the properties that we find of sage we have:
- Act to relieve gastritis if we drink it as an infusion.
- For women with menopause, it helps enormously in regulating sweating. It is known that women with menopause suffer from night drowning. With sage they can alleviate these symptoms.
- It is good for digestion. It makes the process of synthesis of food in the stomach lighter.
- Its effects are very often used as nutritional supplement on a diet to achieve a flatter stomach. Many people suffer from a bloated stomach. Therefore, taking sage as an infusion is a good option.
- It is also good for avoiding gas and resolving gingivitis. For this it is good to take the infusion and gargle.
- It has a high content in vitamins of groups B and C and strengthens the immune system.
- Helps with headaches and stomachaches when having menstruation. This is the reason that we have mentioned before that its benefits are more optimal in women than men.
With these tips you can grow your sage verbenaca at home and enjoy all its properties.