Pineapple sage
Salvia elegans
Also called Tangerine sage and Salvia elegans
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitThe leaves really do smell of pineapple and the scarlet flowers come in OCTOBER, which is both the charm and the problem — it is tender, so a frost usually arrives first. Grow it in a pot that can come in, and use the leaves all summer.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Medium
- Water
- Every 4 daysWater the ground — water at the base, in the morning, not over the leaves.
- Light
- Full sun
- Feed
- Every 21 days
- Humidity
- Average
- Hardiness
- Tender — no frost at all RHS H2, to 1°C
- Size
- 1.2 m tall · 0.8 m across
- Lifecycle
- Perennial
- Origin
- Mexico and Guatemala
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
ASPCA does not name this species. It lists Salvia officinalis and Salvia coccinea as non-toxic and nothing in the genus as toxic — but two siblings' clean bills are not this plant's, so nothing is claimed here either way.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Blackened shoots in late October with the flower buds still closed on them. It flowers too late for an open British garden most years — keep it in a pot and bring it under cover in September.Frosted before it flowers · disorder
- White dust on the lower leaves in a dry late summer, on a plant crowded against a wall.Powdery mildew · disease