when to prune mexican sage in southern california

The Mexican bush sage prefers full sun but tolerates partial sun. relatively simple. The Mexican bush sage can be propagated with cuttings taken in spring or summer. How to Grow Mint Indoors Blooming in autumn until the first frost, Mexican sage can provide a beautiful patch of color in any garden just as many other plants are beginning to fade into dormancy for the winter. Pruning also diverts the expenditure of nourishment to form woody growth to that of buds and fruit. Yet by late August, those fluttering elegies to spring just look dead, and its as obvious to the most laissez faire gardener as it is to the fire marshal that it is time to prune. You should allow the cutting to establish itself with a root system for three weeks to a month. (Courtesy Photo), Groundcover salvias such as this Bees Bliss can be pinched, before or as growth begins, to add denseness. You should prune any dead branches or competing branches. Salvia apiana I leave alone until the inflorescences begin to go black, then I cut them to the first live joint. It will even venture into pathways where, unfortunately, it must get plucked out. Minimize the amount taken, removing dead branches periodically. In cooler regions where plants may be semi-evergreen or deciduous, lightly prune in early fall well before the first frost. This plant loves well-draining but rich soil. Pinch back young manzanitas when there is new growth usually March and April. If it seems late, it isnt. The University of Minnesota Extension recommends cleaning your pruning tools to remove any bits of plant debris and soil before sanitizing the blades. Pruning isn't usually necessary, although a light trim in late autumn may be helpful if you live in a windy area. Be sure to space the plants three feet apart, and spread a few inches ofmulchto help prevent weeds, retain moisture, and keep roots cool. However, these insects usually attack Mexican bush sages grown in a greenhouse. 2023 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Unlike Fountain Grass, the plant is very hardy and can be cut back to a height of 6 inches as soon as it starts to look messy in the late Fall or Winter. Here's how to propagate Mexican bush sage with stem cuttings: The Mexican bush sage can freeze and experience some stem dieback in winter, but when cut back in February, new growth will emerge in spring. If pruned to the ground, it will even bounce back. Feed Mexican sage bush once per month using a balanced 10-10-10 NPK fertilizer. If space demands, do this. As Lili notes, birds move in and glean the seeds. Generally speaking, Mexican sage is a low-maintenance plant that doesnt require much from you. The leaves of this plant are used by some Native American tribes in spiritual ceremonies, which accounts for one of its lesser-known common namessacred sage. Salvias can be pruned twice a year once in the late fall or early winter and once in the early spring. Water with the solution weekly during the summer months. As long as you get the growth conditions right, you should have no trouble getting plenty of blooms at the end of summer. . I love this plant. Our maintenance needs often contradict the needs of nature, and so there is often a delicate dance going on in the garden of what to do for whose benefit. They should remain dry. So if you have the time, pruning twice a year can be helpful for your plant. As a general rule, water Mexican sage every two weeks during periods of drought with little or no rainfall. What saves it from removal every year is a long show of yellow flowers and handsome foliage that make it a handsome sentinel almost year round. 10/25/07: Have seen hummingbirds feeding on this and have yet to see a major pest. Keeping its dead growth above the surface insulates the plant's roots. California native plants are getting more attention these days. This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. Pick a spot that gets a lot of sunlight, and you want to water it right after you finish transplanting it. It spreads and will take over a flower bed quickly. You can water Mexican bush sage during periods of drought longer than two weeks without significant rainfall. On Aug 8, 2003, jkom51 from Oakland, CA (Zone 9b) wrote: This is a very tough, big ever-blooming salvia. Grouping pots together in a sunny, protected area is a good idea, but you also can string old-fashioned outdoor Christmas lights around them to provide some extra warmth on the coldest nights. Californias native poppy is lovely, and so are these others, too Hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers like a magnet . In fact, pruning during the active growing season can delay flowering and prevent you from seeing any flowers before the frost comes and kills it off. Never cut large branches or trunks, which undermines the structural integrity of the tree, writes OBrien. Provide 1 inch of water each week during the summer months or whenever the soil feels dry beneath the surface. It will freeze in the low thirties, and recovers quickly in the spring. . Sign up for our newsletter. You can also prune or pinch back in mid- to late spring but be careful to not take off flower buds, or youll be without flowers and the beautiful red berries. Do not plant Mexican sage in place of culinary sage; it is not used for seasoning. The general rule of thumb when it comes to pruning is to prune your hardier plants in the early winter and leave the more frost-tender to the early spring. Home and Garden | A happy ceanothus that has flowered heavily will have sections of stems without leaves or branches, so cut back old flowered clusters for a denser look. If youre curious how to grow this plant and have it flower late in the season, read on. Only the most ferociously organized gardeners dead-head sage as soon as the flowers fade in June. To transplant it to your garden, youll: If you think that you want to overwinter your Mexican sage but it gets far too cold for your plant to survive if you leave it outside, you have three main choices on how to overwinter it. Santa Barbara Mexican Bush Sage, 09140, 09140000500000, 09140015P00000, 09140000200000, 09140000100000, . You can fertilize your Mexican sage using a 12-12-12 general purpose fertilizer mix each year. Feed the plant in spring, summer, and fall using a balanced, general-purpose fertilizer. It blooms regularly for over 6 months (March - November) in coastal California. Martha Groves Perry returns to Rose Garden for another release show With. Mexican sage usually tops out between four and five feet wide at full maturity, and it has an open, soft growth habit. Best month to visit Mexico. Older plants can be pruned up or thinned to reveal branching patterns in late summer, but because exposing formerly shaded portions can lead to burning its better to do this slowly over years. Blooms late summer and will bloom past our first frosts/freezes! In 2006, I had two of the all purple Salvias growing in the ground next to the driveway and he really loved seeing them every day they were in bloom. Shaker Heights is a historic Ohio community known for stately homes, majestic trees, and expansive lawns. Once the plant gets black from frost, you can pull it up and put it in the compost pile. It gets between two and three feet high at full maturity. See About archive blog posts. In colder zones, keep the dead growth intact until the spring. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? If it's January in the Valley and you've got a Salvia leucantha planted in your yard, there's a good chance it looks very much like this one. Debra LaGattuta is a gardening expert with three decades of experience in perennial and flowering plants, container gardening, and raised bed vegetable gardening. It features tapered leaves that are a greenish-silver color on the bottom and a medium-green color on top. The Forum meets at CMU's Cascade Hall, South . She has over 16 years of experience writing for various outlets including Time Out NY and NJ Monthly. Its coolest period is December through February, and the wettest period is May to October. Francesca Corra, APLD, is a nationally certified landscape designer and owner of Dirt Diva Designs in Studio City, California. Fuzzy flowers and leafs, and the pests leave it alone! Needs well drained soil. 15 Ideas for How to Preserve Fresh Herbs Mexican bush sages can be propagated with cuttings, and overwintering can be done indoors or outdoors, depending on the winter temperatures of your area. To plant, choose a well-draining location that receives full sun. Be sure to put your plants at least 36 inches apart, and opt for a thick layer of mulch to help protect your plants, including wood chips or evergreen boughs. This plant needs plenty of room to grow and likes a good pruning in early spring to keep its shape and prevent it from getting top-heavy when it blooms. You can incorporate a thicker layer of compost into the soil to improve the drainage. Once established, they appreciate a good prune back in the late summer or fall after all the soft purple and white buds have dropped off. Mexican bush sage is an excellent addition to a pollinator garden. This fast-growing, evergreen shrub is a popular garden plant in the Southwest. Sharp, smooth blades will cut more cleanly, allowing the plant to recover faster from pruning. The soil should be well-drained and fertile, and you can mix in a one-inch layer of aged manure to promote healthy growth. On Sep 14, 2009, sillybug5 from Hyannis, MA (Zone 7a) wrote: A real knockout, graceful plant with furry looking amazing flowers, blooming at the end of the season. ). This is very true for younger plants. Hard pruning can be done at the end of the season after all blooming has ceased. People have a tendency to overprune. Have had extremely good luck on drip irrigation with emmiters 6" from base. Since Mexican sage grows to form a dense shrub, you want to leave three feet between your plants to ensure that it has a lot of room to spread without getting crowded. Water it sparingly throughout the winter, roughly once every four to six weeks. You won't need to prune it back until the late winter or early spring months. Remove any dead, damaged, or scraggly stems. And it just won't stop! encourage diversity of wildlife in the garden is a key aspect of creating a lush, green garden oasis. . Cuts into old growth likely wont resprout. Some salvias like to be cut back severely while others need only a trim. Adds great color for late in the year. A butterfly magnet also! My preference is to coppice it (cut it back to the ground level), as it will go winter dormant anyway, and then you will be left with mostly twigs for a while. Autumn Sages ( S. greggii species) are examples of woody-stemmed Salvias. Mexican bush sages require heavier soils than other plants and are not prone to rot in heavy soil. This sage grows into a substantial shrub-like plant, reaching 36 to 48 inches tall and wide by the end of the growing season. Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha) is a fast growing hummingbird plant that can look raggedy by December. To encourage faster growth at the height of summer, Logee's recommends feeding with 1/4 teaspoon of water-soluble 15-15-15 or 7-9-5 fertilizer diluted in 1 gallon of water or 1/2 teaspoon of fertilizer in 1 gallon of water. Though Mexican bush sages are drought-tolerant, they require watering during hot summers. Full bloom occurs in the summer. I'm waiting for them to stop blooming so I can cut them back but it hasn't happened yet. I recently asked a plant-grower in my area if he still carried this plant, but he had discontinued it because everyone had complained that it was coming up from seed like crazy, all over their gardens . Hummingbirds adore Mexican sages nectar, and bees do too. Cleveland sage can be cut back to one-half. It was shaded in the morning by a Pomegranate tree, but it grew & flowered wonderfully. . The soil should be nutrient-rich and maintain balanced moisture levels throughout the growing season. In warmer areas, this cultivar will bloom from spring until well into the fall months, and its slightly less hardy than original Mexican sage. Move the plant indoors before the first frost of the year. In doing so, never remove more than one-third of the plant at a time. While you can propagate from seed, propagating via cuttings is a productive use for excess branching. Do not under any circumstances stump these plants as one might a Mexican sage, unless of course you are trying to kill it. It goes well with the plants popular with bees and butterflies, such as coneflower, black-eyed Susan, and sedum. Pruning it in the fall could impact your plants ability to survive the winter months. If youre looking for something to fill in space, we suggest you consider planting it this spring. If it seems late, it isn't. Only the most ferociously organized gardeners dead-head sage as soon as the flowers fade in June. Pruning Mexican Sage. To keep California white sage (S. apiana, Zones 710) from becoming too leggy, prune it back to the most robust new buds in early to mid-fall. The Mexican bush sage can freeze and experience some stem dieback in winter, but when cut back in February, new growth will emerge in spring. You can wait until as late as early June to plant them when you buy them from your local garden center or use cuttings you overwintered. Prune in summer to early fall, mid-July through September. Pruning at the wrong time of year can delay or even prevent flower formation, so it's vital to perform the right type of pruning at the right time of year to ensure a good crop of blooms in summer. When cutting, it will need reducing by two-thirds, even three-fourths, which can leave a large gap 10 months of the year. Water it every six weeks very sparingly. I live in the San Francisco mid-peninsula foothills and most of the plants are on a deck that has significant wind exposure in winter. I like to save some of the branches and bundle them to scent my home. If you want to remove it, now is the time to do it. Cut back hard in fall to 1' in warmer (no frost) climates and it comes back like a true herb. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Remove damaged parts before the start of spring. Mexican sage benefits from deadheading throughout the season to tidy it up, which can help encourage it to produce more flowers into the autumn months. Mexican sage, or Salvia leucantha, is a popular plant with numerous benefits. The general rule of thumb when it comes to pruning is to prune your hardier plants in the early winter and leave the more frost-tender to the early spring. Although it comes back yearly in the southern states and along the Pacific coast, it is not winter hardy in areas that drop below freezing. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. But I love this plant precisely because of a habit that yawns and stretches, and only cut vividly dead or dying old flower stalks. From a stick almost in the spring to a 6' circle in fall it is a standout. Young trees can benefit from pruning to establish good branching. It blooms regularly for over 6 months (March - November) in coastal California. Though they can reach sizes up to 4 feet (1 m.) in both height and width in native growing zones, these plants will be much smaller when grown as an annual. Reduce, thin and shape it, but avoid severing main branches. On colder nights, I cover them with old sheets, but havent been pleased with the results, mildew and such. If you live in a cold or cool climate, planting Mexican sage too early in the season can lead to delayed growth due to frost damage or cold soil. . Her website www.ifnaturecouldtalk.com is dedicated to speaking for the natural world. Newsom: If addiction is a brain disease, where are all the doctors? Hardy to USDA zones 7b to 10, bush sage can also be grown as an annual in regions outside of its hardiness range. These are new plants I got a few weeks ago from Red Barn Nursery. I get the purple and white ones but just recently saw the solid purple. Consider planting with Mexican sunflowers, marigolds, lantanas, chrysanthemums, and angel trumpets.

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