Autumn sage/salvia greggii

19 years ago

I have a red autumn sage in bloom right now.I've had for 3 years.(not trimed,but keep dead ends off,pinched)I do have it now in ground in part shade.The best its ever looked is right now.I've read to trim back 2 times a year.so when ARE these 2 times.I was reading mid-Feb& mid-June.Mines blooming NOW& started about end of feb-march.

My 2nd question is propagateing cuttings.when& hows best.When I trim plant can't I just root the cuttings?hormone yes or no?green or wood cuttings.

I sit here at my computer...and diectly in front of me is my sage.I've looked at it enough that I'd like to place as rings around a few trees in yard.I did grow in sun at 1st and my leaves were turning.its happier with some shade& I water my plants good.Its currently grouped with Iris,amaryllis,alluim,that pink thing that name eludes me just now& I moved a bergmont plant there last fall sprouting back now also..

Comments (4)

wardw
19 years ago
I've had success with green wood cuttings over the winter - in fact there are now cuttings from cuttings. I used hormone. Because you are in a different climate zone, I can only guess at a pruning schedule. One rule of mine is don't prune when something is flowering well. I'd wait until the really hot weather when blooming slows down and then bring it under control. The other pruning would be a late winter - early spring pruning, removing dead wood and such. Your's is the kind of problem we'd all like to have. Up here we're in a 2 year wet period, and it was so wet this winter that my greggiis have probably become late greggiis.
njoynit
Original Author
19 years ago
We've had a great wet year. Last year by 1st week in Oct we had gone past 2003s rain totals.We were 22 inches over for the year.You may just get loads of blooms.
I may just snip a few low ones for now till slows down,I'll post a picture next week.My USB port is on vaction so use neighbors computer for my pictures.
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phoebe1969
19 years ago
This was under Westelle's post pruning salvias:

Posted by: Rich_Dufresne z7 NC (My Page) on Tue, Jan 25, 05 at 21:07

Please wait until you see new growth. I use the `asparagus' rule to trim Salvias. Bending the stem until it snaps (towards the outer end) will reveal the approximate area where the transition of the woody growth to new green growth is. This is also the point where cuttings are taken.
I treat shrubby woody stemmed sages like greggiis and microphyllas that form twiggy, woody growth like raspberries or roses. Definitely do not cut these to the ground.

Cutting to the ground is only good for those sages that form short stolons underground and send up new shoots, like sinaloensis, glechomiifolia, leucanthas, some microphyllas, guaraniticas, and others. If the plant was rooted and set into the ground with no nodes beneath the soil line, it will not send up shoots in any case. You can often tell this has happened when there is a thick trunk coming from the soil, and the first node has a multitude of stems coming from it. Cut that boy off, and you have a dead plant.
onthehill
19 years ago
My sage has more then doubled in size since I planted it a year ago. Can I divide it?