Clary sage cultivation issue

Growing clary sage for the first time. Currently in year 2 and is in flower.
The issue is the plants are not nearly as fragrant as they were in year one. You could smell them 100' away and now just the flowers have a barely perceptible clary sage smell and nothing from the foliage. They are otherwise super vibrant and healthy looking.
I'm disappointed because I wanted to make an essential oil from them but without the volatile compounds, the yield probably won't be worth it.

My question for clary growers: Is this par the course for clary sage to lose its fragrance in year two? If not I'd be curious to hear what the change could be caused by.

<3

edit: A reputable source informed me that clary sage leaves do not carry the perfume odor of the plant and that the blossoms are all that is used.. So I'm even more curious now why my foliage was so fragrant in year one of the biennial cycle...

I have not grown this though I am always wanting to know about new plants.



This sounds like something I would love to plant.

So pretty and I read that it smells like wine.

The distilled essential oil is used widely in perfumes and as a muscatel flavoring for vermouths, wines, and liqueurs. It is also used in aromatherapy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_sclarea

I have had good luck with the sages I have planted.

I have grown this from gathered seed and same result. Subsequent plants don't have the aroma as the first one I grew. I couldn't believe they were the same plant.
Sorry you never got any answers and that I can't provide one!

Hi Andrea, welcome to Permies! I suppose there must be variation between parent and seedling, but it's odd that bot you and Kiko are both having such disappointing results. I've not got any experience of growing clary sage (I don't think it would like Skye much!). Are you both sure the problem is with the plants and that your sense of smell has not changed? It might be worth getting a second opinion perhaps. I gather that the fragrance does depend upon the growing conditions, so weather and soil can affect the yield too.

Just guessing ...

Original poster said currently in year two.

Clary sage is an annual so maybe in year two the plant was not as vigorus as in year one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvia_viridis

As for the saved seeds ... somewhere here on the forum are some threads that explain that seeds saved from hybrid plants are also not as vigorous as the original plant.