My shrubby type salvias (salmon, blue and purple) have got very lax in their pots but are still blooming. Can I cut them back or will they fail to come back this year?
Dear Hostafan1, I have looked up your word 'Gregii' on the internet and they seem to be this. One is 'Peach Cobbler'. They get sort of twiggy as they get older. I will take some cuttings as you suggest. Thank you for your help.
Dear Hostafan1, I have looked up your word 'Gregii' on the internet and they seem to be this. One is 'Peach Cobbler'. They get sort of twiggy as they get older. I will take some cuttings as you suggest. Thank you for your help.
let us know how you get one. They're so easy ,even I can manage them.
If they are lax in your pots, your soil might be too rich, or you have not cut them down after their first main flush. They don't need good soil. The more free draining the better. If you don't have a lot of time, most shrubby Salvias will do well with one harsh cut by around half of their height at the beginning of July to mid July. It's from that cut onwards, you can take cuttings. But, as others have suggested, cuttings can be from late May right up to September.
Thank you, Borderline. I didn't know that you have to cut them back in July so I let them grow far too straggly. Also I gave them rich compost. I will make sure that the new cuttings are treated properly next year (if they grow). I am very fond of them because the bees love them and they flower for so long.
You don't have to. I have maybe 10 or so different varieties and more than one plant of most, and I only cut back one plant in July - the rest were flowering well and not looking straggly so I left them. I prune mine quite hard when they start growing in spring, taking them down to the new growth or below, and repot the ones in pots at the same time if needed.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I think the soil content would make a difference. Any plant that prefers poor soil will behave differently in manure, clay or compost. I have a Bumble hedge planted in clay and compost and it is a bit straggly too. It has bad drainage and I lost one of the bushes last winter. Fingers crossed they will survive the next one.
That figures. My soil is sandy and pebbly, and the ones in pots get cheapo multipurpose compost with some grit or sharp sand or some of my sandy soil mixed in to lighten it.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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