I bought a perennial salvia, not sure of the name, but it is a very intense blue. It is a bit tall and leggy. Should it be pinched back early in the year, like chrysanthemums, to make it bush out?
Salvia culture
I don't know of any sages that would be hurt by being pinched back early in the year. Chrysanthemums certainly benefit from being pinched back every two weeks until mid-July (maybe not so late further north).
However, I pinch back a lot of perennials - including sages - shortly before they form flower buds (you can root those prunings like cuttings). This does two things: 1) makes them bushier and thus minimizes the amount of staking needed; and 2) delays flowering - this keeps the garden "fresher" later into the season - kalimeris (Mongolian aster) thus becomes a fall bloomer.
Surprising to me was how well platycodon and hollyhock responded to being cut back shortly before forming flowers (or shortly after).
Wow! I am surprised! Is my salvia, tag says g. salvia, a perennial? Is it hardy in zone 6-7?
woodspirit is this it? [HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com] it is one of my best here in the yard.
hyperlink doesn't work......
Welp, thar's a lotta Salvia g.s out there. Let's suppose this is one of those Salvia guarniticas. The Sandy Mush catalog puts S. guarniticas in zones 7 - 9.
Woodspirit, are you just now planting this sage? I don't know about your experience, but in my experience perennials that are border-line hardy to where I live are best planted in the spring and have iffy survival rates when planted this time of year.
If you just acquired it, one way to better the odds of survival over winter is to plant it in a cold frame. Essentially, plant it now and sometime before the ground freezes put four pieces of lumber in a box around it with a lid of plastic stapled to a square or plexiglass or an old window sash, etc (Lift lid on warm days). After the ground freezes (not before) mulch the plant and gradually remove the mulch in the spring but leave the frame in place until at least a couple of weeks before your last spring frost. This would be a nice place to stash any other iffy plants over the winter, too.
Hope I don't sound too bossy.
PS - Sandy Mush is a wonderful nursery - huge inventory with accurate, scientific names, relatively inexpensive, excellent quality plants, very dependable, and run by a true plant lover. Their print catalog is a concise gold mine of information. Here's their email: sandymushherbs@mindspring.com
PPS - another possibility could be Salvia greggii hybrids - some are blue or dark purple; not all have hardiness zones given, but the parent S. greggii is said to be hardy to zones 7 or 8.
PPPS - Salvia guarnitica 'Argentine Skies' has a tuberous root like Salvia patens that is said to be able to be stored in peat over the winter (slightly dampened occasionally), as you would dahlias or 4 O'Clocks.
75154 and Woodspirit - sorry, our posts crossed in cyberspace. Hope that link gets to working.
alright try this one http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1914/index.html it should work!
I would bet ya it is one of these
http://davesgarden.com/pf/b/Lamiaceae/Salvia/guaranitica///
checking all the zones half would return and half would not. I would take a cutting just in case before frost hit - they are some of the best blue salvias you can grow!
thank you all so much. It is the salvia Guaranitica; I just don't know which one. It is a very bright, intense blue. I am border-line zone 6b-7a. I got the plant at the GA RU in the spring, I think. I am pleased with it, but wanted to know if I could pinch it back to get more branching and blooming. The answer was "yes" in another thread.
They are a great plant - enjoy!