| Author | Content |
plantRN
(Beth) L'ville, GA
(Zone 7b)
December 03, 2008
12:38 PM Post #5854551
| Hi all! Hope your Thanksgiving was great! I have a question about Mexican Bush Sage. I planted two large Bush Sages this fall and both did well. But now, of course, they've been hit by frost and are starting to go dormant. Should I cut them back (they look sad) or not? THANKS IN ADVANCE! |
MitchF
Lindsay, OK
(Zone 7a)
December 03, 2008
12:42 PM Post #5854571
| Cut down and MULCH like crazy - they dont like real cold weather and can be hit and miss to come back in Dallas and that is zone 8a. You can do it just cover them up with a good thick layer of mulch. |
plantRN
(Beth) L'ville, GA
(Zone 7b)
December 03, 2008
12:47 PM Post #5854587
| Thank you Mitch! They are mulched already but not cut down. One is doing better than the other but it was planted later than the first. Both have been through 3 or 4 heavy frosts and just now are starting to look as if they are going dormant. Thanks again for your help--I hope they come back next year--they are truly lovely! |
plantfreak78
Rolesville, NC
(Zone 7b)
December 03, 2008
01:06 PM Post #5854642
| Actually, if you don't cut them back they have a much better chance of surviving winter. Salvias have hollow stems so if you cut them back, water can get inside them and then freeze the root. I'd still mulch it like crazy but I would not cut them back. |
plantRN
(Beth) L'ville, GA
(Zone 7b)
December 03, 2008
01:15 PM Post #5854682
| plantfreak78--you are right--these plants do have hollow stems. I accidentally broke one stem while planting and noticed it was hollow; it healed though. They are pretty large plants--I bought them in 2 gallon pots and both are about 3 feet tall. If I don't cut them back, will they just get taller or will they send up new stems? |
MitchF
Lindsay, OK
(Zone 7a)
December 03, 2008
01:17 PM Post #5854691
| This and bush sage I always cut back in Dallas when the cold came - they always came back fine but I mulched them up and over the cuts. |
MitchF
Lindsay, OK
(Zone 7a)
December 03, 2008
01:18 PM Post #5854697
| And yes they will send up new stems in the spring - like lantana. |
plantfreak78
Rolesville, NC
(Zone 7b)
December 03, 2008
01:47 PM Post #5854800
| I go by the rule of better-safe-than-sorry. I've worked at a retail nursery for ten years and I've had to replace dozens of Salvia leucantha plants (and usually S. guaranitica as well) each spring because they froze from the inside out. Maybe our winters are wetter than they are in Oklahoma... Anyway, if the plants are newly planted it makes them additionally sensitive to cold damage their first year in the ground. |
plantRN
(Beth) L'ville, GA
(Zone 7b)
December 03, 2008
02:00 PM Post #5854864
| Thank you Mitch and plantfreak78--I will take the middle road--will not cut but will add more mulch! |
catspower
Pangburn, AR
(Zone 7b)
January 24, 2009
07:47 AM Post #6044019
| Hi plantRN
Did you get my address for the Christmas Exchange?
Its posted on Home, Extras, and DG address exchange.
I am just so excited about the bird house. I had never seen another one like it.
Cathy |
