Clary sage
A large biennial sage also grown in fields for essential oil; it gives plenty of nectar in midsummer and is valued as a field honey plant in Eastern Europe.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,6-1,2 m
- Life cycle
- Biennial
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A large-leaved, strongly scented plant of dry, stony slopes and roadsides from the Mediterranean basin to Anatolia, Iran and Central Asia. It is grown as a field crop for its essential oil in Bulgaria, Russia, Crimea, France and Turkey. Eastern European beekeeping literature lists it as a good field honey plant; its nectar is good and its pollen contribution moderate.
Flowering
In the first year it forms a leaf rosette; in the second year it flowers from June to August in large spikes of white-pink to lilac. Secretion is high on hot days, especially in the morning and late afternoon; in the field flowering lasts 4-5 weeks.
Honey and pollen
On large fields beekeepers can take a good honey crop; the honey is light in colour and mildly scented, but there is no widely used standard definition of a monofloral honey.
Note for the beekeeper
The essential oil crop is harvested at full bloom, so the cutting date needs to be discussed with the grower. As it is biennial, sowing it in the garden every year ensures continuous flowering.