The Hamton hack is indeed the equivalent of the Chelsea Chop, done around the time of the Hampton Court show @clematisdorset . Here's a video by William Dyson at Great Comp Garden, showing how it's done.
By the way, if you have a branch of The Range nearby, they may have shrubby salvias in bigger pots. They had a really good selection at my local branch last year that are flowering again. I plan to go in later this week to see if they have any more this year
Thankyou @AnniD that is a great video. I will have a look at Great Comp Garden & The Range too! I hope you find some salvia. I will wait for mine in anticipation, they may even be in flower on arrival. Will updated the thread when I receive them.
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@Dovefromabove My Salvias are only just waking up so is it ok to 'hack' them now or is it only when they have been in flower for a while and looking tired? tia
I usually trim off any dead bits down to where the new growth is starting (or further if I feel so inclined), in the spring, then leave them to get on with it. If they start to look a bit straggly and tired later in the summer I might clip them over, but not while they're full of flowers.
If yours are only just starting into growth now, that's rather late but it would still be OK to trim back any dead bits. If by "just waking up" you mean starting to flower rather than starting into growth, I would leave them alone now or you'll delay the flowering.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I agree. If they're only just coming into flower l would leave them be, and just cut off the flower stalks as and when they've run out of steam @Meomye.
@JennyJ, @AnniD, lots of things in my garden are very slow waking up this year (coming out of the ground) my red gregii is the most advanced at approx 30cm. I thought I had lost most of my other 'G's' but I have recently noticed tiny signs of life which is great as having spent soo much money on them I was not willing to start again! Any ideas how long gregiis live? I know they can eventually get ugly and woody. tia
I've had my oldest one for probably 25 years or so @Meomye . Pruning hard each spring taking off a lot of the old woody growth helps to rejuvenate them, and they're very easy to take cuttings from so you can make fresh young plants of the varieties that you already have, if you prefer. Some (particularly S. lycoides and S. "Nachtvlinder" amongst the ones I have) spread underground and come up in thickets rather than from a single stem/trunk and those ones don't really get woody for me.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
I had to hack back hard a hot lips that was overhanging the lawn and looked to have a lot of dead on it. I took 6 cuttings, 3 to a pot in April, one pot I have given away this week, already flowering at 6 inches high.
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Here's a video by William Dyson at Great Comp Garden, showing how it's done.
https://youtu.be/D_-82B8EnF8
By the way, if you have a branch of The Range nearby, they may have shrubby salvias in bigger pots. They had a really good selection at my local branch last year that are flowering again. I plan to go in later this week to see if they have any more this year
Any ideas how long gregiis live? I know they can eventually get ugly and woody. tia