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Penstemon & salvia
hi all, I have several penstemon & salvia hot lips in the garden that I put in last year. The salvia are all looking a bit straggly and I'm unsure of how to prune them? Similarly should I cut the penstemon right back or just take a bit off the top? I've removed all of the obviously dead stems.
thanks in anticipation of advice, pruning anything I love terrifies me!!!
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Prune the Penstemons down to new shoots at the base but don't do it yet, the current growth is protecting it from frosts. I am waiting a few more week's before I do mine.
As for Salvias I reduce them by half in the Autumn and then give them a good cut back in the Spring.
brilliant, thanks for that.
I dont really like hotlips or bowles mauve the following year, I take cuttings late summer ready for this Spring planting, they will grow into big bushes and flower beautifully in the same year. I dont think its worth having the straggly old plants around.
Hi lyn, i did take some cuttings and have 3 which have signs of new leaves, was unsure at what point to plant them out, didnt think they would flower this year but if they do thats great!
oops, i cut my penstemon down by half last weekend, should i put some fleece on it to protect it?
I am planning on doing mine this weekend - i think you should be fine unless really deep frosts are forecast