I assume you mean Leucophyllum ?? ... Light pruning can be done anytime ...

Good Day ..

angel1123,

Here in the metro Phoenix area I've seen two species blooming in the last week or two - Leucophyllum frutescens and Leucophyllum laevigatum. A general rule for pruning flowering shrubs is to wait until after they have bloomed. For the leucophyllums (Texas sage) blooming is throughout the warm months and the recommended time to prune is in February or March. You can remove as much as one-third of the foliage at this time without causing too much stress.

From now until October the sages will bloom intermittently with splashes of color - some are even fragrant. If you prune now you will be removing the bud wood from which the blooms will be produced. As mentioned in a previous post, light pruning can be done nearly anytime, just don't shear your plants. Instead use hand pruners to selectively remove portions of branches to reduce the size at varying lengths. This will result in a more natural looking shrub and will have less impact on its blooming potential.

Here is a link to a great book on pruning.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning, Planting & Care

I was wondering if the Texas Sage could be classified as an herb(like regular sage) and if not how does it differ?

Leucophyllum is in the Scrophulariaceae family (snapdragons and Penstemons), while Salvia (including herb/culinary sages) are in the Labitae (mint) family. There are a number of different plants called "sage", which makes things rather confusing.

My non-expert thought on Leucophyllum would be: herb as medicine? Probably. Herb for culinary use? No.

Eva

Has anyone had their Texas sage sending up sprouts a couple feet out from the base in the Phoenix area? I don't know if this is from seeds or roots? This is the first time this has happened in four years.

I WISH my sage would send up sprouts from the base! My shrubs have been neglected the past few years (I was busy having a baby; my husband is clueless) and they look fine and leafy on top, but dead and spindly at the bottom. I cut them way back last winter, but I don't see any improvement.

Check water ... they don't like moist soil ... more so in winter months ... if planted near a lawn soil water movement can wreak havoc in cooler temps ... also lots of sun ... No heavy shade ... the less hard pruning the better.

Good Day ...

some branches are not green under the bark, but have little sprouts on them. some of the branches are green under the bark. Is it dying?