I have no problem with rosemary (potted) but sage is a no go here...
It would probably have been ok here this winter, tucked against the house wall in a pot, but I don't have time to faff with borderline stuff. I have to be ruthless!
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My sage is in an east-facing bed, gets shade half of the day and all the rain that runs off the terrace and in the winter is frequently up to it's knees in water and has been under snow for 10 weeks at a time, and still survives and is huge and has to be cut back hard every spring - I'll do it any day now - however we're on a gritty loam - I can only presume that's what keeps it happy.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
So Dove, ok to cut back now? I have some clumps of purple sage which are looking a bit straggly/sad after winter - do you go hard back to the ground with yours?
I cut back far enough to remove most of the leaves and leave a framework of leafless 'branches' - that means that the 'bush' is about 8" tall after pruning. We're still getting some sharp frosts - think I'll do mine over the Easter weekend - I know that we'll still get some frosts after that but I think/hope that by the time the new buds start to grow the worst frosts will be over.
I'll use some of the bits I cut off as cuttings, making a sharp cut directly below a leaf node to make a cutting about 6" long, removing all the leaves except at the tip, dipping in hormone rooting gel and putting around the edge of a pot of gritty loam. I then put the pot in a quiet shady corner and forget about it other than to make sure that it doesn't dry out. Within a couple of months there should be some little roots peeking through the bottom of the pot
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Great advice, thanks Dove. Mine are quite young plants, I put them in last May time so they aren't much more than 8-10 ins anyway but will apply the principle you describe & definitely take cuttings too, good idea!
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I have no problem with rosemary (potted) but sage is a no go here...
It would probably have been ok here this winter, tucked against the house wall in a pot, but I don't have time to faff with borderline stuff. I have to be ruthless!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My sage is in an east-facing bed, gets shade half of the day and all the rain that runs off the terrace and in the winter is frequently up to it's knees in water and has been under snow for 10 weeks at a time, and still survives and is huge and has to be cut back hard every spring - I'll do it any day now - however we're on a gritty loam - I can only presume that's what keeps it happy.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
So Dove, ok to cut back now? I have some clumps of purple sage which are looking a bit straggly/sad after winter - do you go hard back to the ground with yours?
I cut back far enough to remove most of the leaves and leave a framework of leafless 'branches' - that means that the 'bush' is about 8" tall after pruning. We're still getting some sharp frosts - think I'll do mine over the Easter weekend - I know that we'll still get some frosts after that but I think/hope that by the time the new buds start to grow the worst frosts will be over.
I'll use some of the bits I cut off as cuttings, making a sharp cut directly below a leaf node to make a cutting about 6" long, removing all the leaves except at the tip, dipping in hormone rooting gel and putting around the edge of a pot of gritty loam. I then put the pot in a quiet shady corner and forget about it other than to make sure that it doesn't dry out. Within a couple of months there should be some little roots peeking through the bottom of the pot
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Great advice, thanks Dove. Mine are quite young plants, I put them in last May time so they aren't much more than 8-10 ins anyway but will apply the principle you describe & definitely take cuttings too, good idea!
Hello Dove .Does it flower every year if its cut back hard??
I like sage and live down south. It rarely survives the winter and hates anything but full on sun. I can only grow it at the front of the house.