I have a plain old garden variety (ha ha) sage plant that has taken over
my herb garden. Well, not quite, but it's well on the way and it is only
two years old. Right now, it is about 3.5 feet across (and when I planted
it, it had only one small stem and looked sort of sad!), and in gorgeous
purple-flowered glory. If I cut it back really hard, will it do ok and
just start growing again, since it's still early summer? I would wait til
it was done flowering, of course but I imagine that will be pretty
soon, right?

thanks,
h.

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large

From: (Hillary Israeli)
Date: Fri, Jun 6, 2003 8:33 AM
Message-id:

I have a plain old garden variety (ha ha) sage plant that has taken over

my herb garden. Well, not quite, but it's well on the way and it is only

two years old. Right now, it is about 3.5 feet across (and when I planted

it, it had only one small stem and looked sort of sad!), and in gorgeous

purple-flowered glory. If I cut it back really hard, will it do ok and
just start growing again, since it's still early summer? I would wait til

it was done flowering, of course but I imagine that will be pretty
soon, right?

thanks,
h.

Wellllllll......not to deflate the balloon and all that metaphor stuff.....but
Salvia officinalis is known to be a relatively short-lived garden plant, from
everything I've read and from my own experience. Last year I had a
two-year-old plan† that threatened to take over, just as you describe, with a
similar size. Gorgeous (this was the purple variety) and healthy, I kept
taking cuttings for propagation and cooking. So.....this year, it barely
showed up, and is now simply a few twigs with some new growth coming from the
roots. I've leaving it in place, but I've already replaced it with a clone
planted close by, grown from last year's cuttings. You can certainly keep
cutting your sage back but be sure to take cuttings to root for next year's
plants, if this one should fail. (It's quite possible that stimulating new
growth by cutting it back could exhaust the plant to some extent, but I'm still
thinking that the experts who declare it 'short-lived' must be onto something.)

Anyway, enjoy it, 'cause a big bushy sage is a wonderful thing to behold. (You
know, in all my years, I've never had a culinary sage flower for me, here in
the northeast.)

Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa 6b

On 06 Jun 2003 17:14:35 GMT, oway (Tyra
Trevellyn) wrote:



Anyway, enjoy it, 'cause a big bushy sage is a wonderful thing to behold. (You
know, in all my years, I've never had a culinary sage flower for me, here in
the northeast.)


I bought one at Wal-Mart in the beginning of May (this
year). It's flowering. It's only a small thing, but
it's flowering. It surprised me, actually. Maybe it likes
all the rain we've had.

Pat
In PA's Northern Tier - Zone 5

Tyra Trevellyn said:

Wellllllll......not to deflate the balloon and all that metaphor stuff.....but
Salvia officinalis is known to be a relatively short-lived garden plant, from
everything I've read and from my own experience.

I dunno...my first sage two plants died after one year. The replacement still
lives. Some winters it gets knocked back really hard. Last year was one
of the hard ones. This year the plant is 11 years old. It *may* finally kick the
bucket, but as I was cutting away all the dead stuff, I found a seedling growing,
and left it alone.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

In article ,
oway (Tyra Trevellyn) wrote:

From: (Hillary Israeli)
Date: Fri, Jun 6, 2003 8:33 AM
Message-id:

I have a plain old garden variety (ha ha) sage plant that has taken over

my herb garden. Well, not quite, but it's well on the way and it is only

two years old. Right now, it is about 3.5 feet across (and when I planted

it, it had only one small stem and looked sort of sad!), and in gorgeous

purple-flowered glory. If I cut it back really hard, will it do ok and
just start growing again, since it's still early summer? I would wait til

it was done flowering, of course but I imagine that will be pretty
soon, right?

thanks,
h.

Wellllllll......not to deflate the balloon and all that metaphor
stuff.....but
Salvia officinalis is known to be a relatively short-lived garden plant, from
everything I've read and from my own experience. Last year I had a
two-year-old plan† that threatened to take over, just as you describe, with a
similar size. Gorgeous (this was the purple variety) and healthy, I kept
taking cuttings for propagation and cooking. So.....this year, it barely
showed up, and is now simply a few twigs with some new growth coming from the
roots. I've leaving it in place, but I've already replaced it with a clone
planted close by, grown from last year's cuttings. You can certainly keep
cutting your sage back but be sure to take cuttings to root for next year's
plants, if this one should fail. (It's quite possible that stimulating new
growth by cutting it back could exhaust the plant to some extent, but I'm
still
thinking that the experts who declare it 'short-lived' must be onto
something.)

Anyway, enjoy it, 'cause a big bushy sage is a wonderful thing to behold.
(You
know, in all my years, I've never had a culinary sage flower for me, here in
the northeast.)

Best,
Tyra
nNJ usa 6b

I live in Seattle, and just yesterday I saw an enormous purple sage
(stems at least an inch and a half in diameter). I've grown sages for
years and usually end up ripping them out due to fungus or bugs or
something. I'm currently growing a tricolor (white, purple, green) that
I planted last year. It flowered profusely last year and is getting
ready to do so again. I don't know what the magic formula is, but if
you have lots of sun, not too much summer moisture and mild winters
(native conditions) they should thrive. Cutting back a big healthy sage
shouldn't kill it. Just don't cut back more than about 1/3 per year.

Angela

In ,
Tyra Trevellyn wrote:

*Wellllllll......not to deflate the balloon and all that metaphor stuff.....but
*Salvia officinalis is known to be a relatively short-lived garden plant, from
*everything I've read and from my own experience. Last year I had a
*two-year-old plan† that threatened to take over, just as you describe, with a
*similar size. Gorgeous (this was the purple variety) and healthy, I kept
*taking cuttings for propagation and cooking. So.....this year, it barely
*showed up, and is now simply a few twigs with some new growth coming from the
*roots. I've leaving it in place, but I've already replaced it with a clone
*planted close by, grown from last year's cuttings. You can certainly keep
*cutting your sage back but be sure to take cuttings to root for next year's
*plants, if this one should fail. (It's quite possible that stimulating new
*growth by cutting it back could exhaust the plant to some extent, but I'm still
*thinking that the experts who declare it 'short-lived' must be onto something.)

I've got four clones of it already, actually, from last year and two
from this year.

*Anyway, enjoy it, 'cause a big bushy sage is a wonderful thing to behold. (You
*know, in all my years, I've never had a culinary sage flower for me, here in
*the northeast.)

Oh. Well, I'm right outside Philadelphia, and it flowers, man, does it
flower.

--
hillary israeli vmd http://www.hillary.net
"uber vaccae in quattuor partes divisum est."
not-so-newly minted veterinarian-at-large