Safe to Plant

Russian sage · Ḩalwān, Cairo, Egypt

When to sow russian sages in Ḩalwān

Main outdoor window

not outdoors here

The window this page is built around.

Timed from last spring frost

no spring frost

In Ḩalwān, on your chosen risk.

First autumn frost

no autumn frost

The far end of the outdoor season.

The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.

Step by step in Ḩalwān

Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.

Frost tolerance
Very-hardy
Damaged below
-30°C (-22°F)
First crop
Year 1
Hardy to
Zone 4a–9a
Spacing
60 cm
Sowing depth
10 mm (0.4 in)
Sun
Full

Russian sages through the year

Against the frost risk in Ḩalwān

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Frost risk Today

Why these dates

Plant out in spring after the last frost. Leave the woody stems standing over winter and cut them back to 15cm in early spring as the new buds appear - cutting in autumn removes the crown's own frost protection and is the usual reason a plant is lost in a cold winter.

Hardy to -30C in dry soil, considerably less in wet. Winter drainage is the deciding factor everywhere near its cold limit.

Seed packets and extension guides express timing as weeks either side of the last spring frost, because that is the only reference point that travels. Russian sages are timed with planting out 2 weeks after it, and this page simply resolves those offsets against the frost date computed for Ḩalwān.

Ḩalwān sits in zone 10b, which is milder than this crop wants, and a winter that never really arrives is its own problem. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.

Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 1, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.

See every crop timed for Ḩalwān →

Growing russian sages in Ḩalwān

How much frost will russian sages tolerate?

Hardy to -30C in dry soil, considerably less in wet. Winter drainage is the deciding factor everywhere near its cold limit.