Lilac sage
A sage very common on Anatolian roadsides and pastures; its short-tubed flowers suit honey bees and it supplies nectar over a long summer flowering.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Medium
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Height
- 0,3-0,8 m
- Life cycle
- Perennial
🐝 Add to my apiary
Log in to add it to your apiary.Value for beekeeping
A very common sage of roadsides, pastures, field margins and dry slopes from central and eastern Europe to Anatolia, the Caucasus and Iran. Unlike other sages, its corolla tube is short and its lever mechanism weak, so honey bees reach the nectar easily. Russian and Ukrainian sources describe it as a good honey plant.
Flowering
Small lilac-purple flowers open in tiers around the stem from June to September. Its long flowering period makes it a valuable secondary source in the summer dearth. In dry summers secretion falls but does not stop completely.
Honey and pollen
It gives no monofloral honey; it goes into mixed summer and highland honeys. Its pollen contribution is moderate.
Note for the beekeeper
It spreads by itself along unmown roadsides and field edges; protecting these strips extends the summer flow. In the garden it can be used as a drought-tolerant, self-seeding bee plant; if cut back after the first flowering, it flowers again.