# sage honey?



## oldfast (Oct 20, 2008)

My neighbors have some russian sage growing beside their house and my bees flood all over these plants. Does anyone know if the honey off these plants is any good?


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## cow pollinater (Dec 5, 2007)

Sage honey is good stuff but a few plants will not give you enough flavor for you to recognize it. I'm not up on the different varieties of sage used in landscaping, but the wild stuff is a main flow for alot of us in the western states.


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## LtlWilli (Mar 11, 2008)

Yep...sage would have to be a good portion ( acres and acres ) of the source of nectar and pollen to impact the honey flavor. However, it is a wonderful plant indeed. I have one large Texas sage (ceniza), and it is gorgeous when in bloom. For this Spring , I have purchased starts of it , and several packets of English lavender. Even at that amount, it will not give me, lavender honey, but it will surely provide extra forage for the little ladies year after year, plus delightful visual and nasal rewards for me.


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## Walliebee (Nov 17, 2006)

The plant you refer to is Perovskia atriplicifolia. It is in the sage family (Lamiaceae), but not a true sage (Salvis sp.)

Don't get fooled by common names. :doh:


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## oldfast (Oct 20, 2008)

*sage*

Thanks for the info on the russian sage. I've got about 3.5 acres of field out in front of our house and i'm trying to decide what to plant a beepatsure would bee ideal. I've looked into clover which is probably the most affordable but sweet clover looks like it needs to be planted every couple of years. 
wildflowers are preety expensive with all the soil prep and the price of seed. we live in central ohio. so any one with any ideas would be appreciated.


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## Aram (May 9, 2006)

They do like Russian Sage for sure. I went to do a "bee removal" last summer and it turned out the bees were wasps. The homeowners asked me how to differentiate between wasps and bees. I saw they had a Russian Sage in their backyard garden. It was in flower so without hesitation I said "let's go look at that bush." Sure enough it was covered in bees.
I planted a few sages around my house more as a treat for the bees than production bloom. At $3-$4/ 3" pot it would take thousand$ to make an impact.


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## brooksbeefarm (Apr 13, 2008)

oldfast said:


> Thanks for the info on the russian sage. I've got about 3.5 acres of field out in front of our house and i'm trying to decide what to plant a beepatsure would bee ideal. I've looked into clover which is probably the most affordable but sweet clover looks like it needs to be planted every couple of years.
> wildflowers are preety expensive with all the soil prep and the price of seed. we live in central ohio. so any one with any ideas would be appreciated.


Three acre's of buckweat would make a good beepasture, I get 3 to 4 blooms from it each year.:thumbsup: It makes a dark honey with a stronger tast,but i've never had anyone turn it down,(at the farmers market).Jack


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## oldfast (Oct 20, 2008)

buckwheat? will look into this idea thanks


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