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ckim88

Pineapple Sage Questions

ckim88
18 years ago

Hi I have a pineapple sage plant that I bought 2 years ago. It is currently in an south-east facing enclosed balcony that is warmer than outside and is currently resuming growth. At this time of the year, it rarely drops below 40F. The plant is potted in a 12 inch pot.

The plant currently has only two stems of about 2 feet in length because the top part of the plant died in a cold spell a little more than a year ago and I have negelected it for the past year. This winter was warmer than usual so it didn't die back this year.

I would like to pot it up in fresh new potting soil this weekend. I want to grow it big this year, so I have the following questions:

How much should I water? Does pineapple sage like it dry or wet?

Would regualr potting soil be suitable?

How do you take cuttings from the plant and root it?

Is it normal for pineapple sage to lose its lower leaves as it grows?

Finally, I would like to cut back the 2 stems that the plant currently has. If I cut back the stems to the ground, dig it up, and repot it, would it grow back?


Comments (7)

  • Daisyduckworth
    18 years ago

    How much should I water? Does pineapple sage like it dry or wet?
    Pineapple sage can take large amounts of water, as long as you provide excellent drainage.

    Would regualr potting soil be suitable?
    Yes.

    How do you take cuttings from the plant and root it?
    Take a cutting, stick it in the dirt, water it in and off it'll go. You may not need to do it, because pineapple sage is very good at propagating itself without human intervention. In my part of the world (subtropics) it's on the verge of being declared a noxious weed.

    Is it normal for pineapple sage to lose its lower leaves as it grows?
    Yes, if you don't keep chopping its head off to encourage lower growth.

    Finally, I would like to cut back the 2 stems that the plant currently has. If I cut back the stems to the ground, dig it up, and repot it, would it grow back?
    Why cut back the stems so far? But yes, it's very likely to grow back after transplanting. It's a tough plant to kill!

  • ckim88
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thanks! The only reason I would like to cut back the stems is that that they look very ugly with leaves only near the top. Furthermore,they grew only in one direction. I was thinking of rooting the cut stems to make more plants, lol.

    In my part of the world, we have very wet summers. We get about 2.5 times more rainfall in July than most cities on the east coast of the United States! It's great that they can take a lot of water. (I am planning to give my plant a summer outdoors)

    Does someone have the experience of growing this plant in pots? Thanks.

  • oldroser
    18 years ago

    I have a potted one I've grown for three years now. I take it indoors in winter since it is not winter hardy here. Easiest thing to do is layer one of the stems to get a new plant. Just put another pot of potting soil alongside your present plant, bend a stem down and pin it on the soil in the new pot with a piece of bent wire and put some potting soil over the stem. You'll have a new plant in a few weeks. Mine layers itself into the gravel driveway where it sits in the summer time.
    If you cut yours all the way back to the ground you may lose it. Better to start a new plant and once it grows, pinch it back to make it bushy. Or if you have a big pot, you could layer stems all around the original plant.

  • jenn
    18 years ago

    I wouldn't cut the stems all they way to the ground. Leave them alone and wait for new leaves to emerge closer to the base. Then you can cut down to those if you wish. Cutting off all the leaves now may deprive the plant of photosynthesis, and kill it.

    I stuck a small cutting of our pineapple sage (Salvia elegans) in the ground in January. It is about an inch or so taller but is loaded with blooms! To root from a cutting, just cut above a pair of leaves. Strip off the lower leaves (leave some at the top) and stick the cutting into moist soil. Keep the soil damp but not wet. Be patient... in about a month or so you'll see new leaves and, soon after that, you might see blooms.

    This Salvia can take regular water and will bloom well in quite a bit of shade. Ours is in dappled shade most of the day and it blooms there most of the year.

  • gborosteve
    17 years ago

    Here's my pineapple sage. It's the one on the far left...next to it is cinnamon basil, then sage that's almost out of the picture.

    http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h33/gborosteve/437765d7.jpg

    I planted it in a bed of pineapple mint. I found the two compliment each other rather well.

    The pineapple mint's dense bed covering helps keep the soil from drying out so quickly from all the sun the plant receives. The pot is well-drained and thrives. And I love the way the mint cascades over the edges of the planter.

  • jenny_in_se_pa
    17 years ago

    That's interesting having the pineapple mint with the pineapple sage. I have 2 different cultivars of pineapple sage and also have a pineapple mint. I do know that the pineapple mint can be aggressive and the pineapple sage can get quite large and woody. Fortunately in the case of interplanting, the pineapple sage prefers more water than other salvias so I can see how it could do okay with the pineapple mint. As you can tell, a large pot is a necessity! :-o

    :-p

  • inbox485
    13 years ago

    I have a pineapple sage plant. The scent seems to have gone from sweet to an almost spoiled smell. The plant appears healthy, but the scent isn't pineapple anymore. Any ideas on what I did and how to fix it?