Problem: we have a tiny patio in the back. One year, 5 - 6 years ago, we planted what I think was Russian Sage on one side, just 1 or 2 plants, right in the dirt. They didn't do that well, and we figured they were dead (or the dirt was). Then they kept coming back - now, of course, I guess they were sleeping and creeping. Anyway last year or maybe the year before, we said this is definitely Something, and not just a tall weed. Last fall we started a raised bed with ammended soil and I said 'let's put this tough old guy in the back, where it won't block the view.' So my loyal DH dug it up and moved it to the best of his abilities. Now, it looks dead. Really dead. Should the stems still be alive, or does it do the whole growing thing all over again each year? Is it ok that the whole thing seems brittle? What is yours doing right now? Does it (did it) need full sun? Please advise, because if it's really dead, we want to stick something else there!
xxxxx, Carrie
Russian sage - what does it look like now?
Right now mine's probably about 16" tall and it's green. I did cut mine back last fall and these are new branches. I'm in zone 5 so I would think that yours should be up by now but I could be wrong.
I will take a pic of mine in a little bit....I just bought mine last year at Lowes and it did not do well at all...it had an awful shape to it and just barely looked alive all Summer.
Well this sucker died back all the way this past winter and it has come back beautiful!!! I put it in the back corner of my new flower bed and I am loving it!!! It just started putting the purple out but has had leaves for a while now. Mine may be 2-2.5 feet tall right now!
Will put a pic up in a bit.
OK here is a pic of mine.....
And here is a pic of where it is in my bed.... Mine is in full sun all day and I dont water that often either just kind of wait on the rain.....if the rain doesnt come we may water once in a while.
Mine has green on it and I am a zone colder than you, so I think yours is dead. Mine do have some dead sticks left from last year, but they also have green branches.
I was actually just wondering about Russian Sage.
I havea couple of 3 year old plants that have already fully bloomed. They're on their way out now. if I cut the flowers back, will they rebloom? They have never bloomed this early before!
I would look at a bit of the wood at the base - if there are several "sticks" coming out, check several. Scrape away a little of the outer bark. Is there any greenness underneath? If there is no greenness on any of the sticks, right at the base, it's probably dead. My Russian Sage is in zone 5a and is probably about 6-8 inches tall now (the new shoots). It started showing new shoots about a month ago. You are warmer, so I would have expected earlier shoots on yours. You could also dig it up a bit at one side and look at the roots. Are they white and crisp inside, or are they brown and mushy? If the roots are actively growing and getting nutrients to the plant, they should be white, at least inside if you break one. If you break a couple of roots and it's alive, it won't kill it. I prune mine in spring - I have thought it was like lavenders and did better with pruning in spring of the dead old wood, rather than in fall. Not sure. Anyway, I would check the base for greenness under the bark, check a few roots, and see what you come up with.
CMox
We actually went so far as to try to pull it out by the roots - it's alive. It is at the outside corner of this raised bed, and we didn't transplant it very respectfully. We sort of threw it there with only a few inches separating it from the edges of this bed, so it may be in its own really cold microclimate? Maybe it's delayed from being in shade, or maybe, after years of trying to coax oxygen out of New England rocks, it doesn't know what to do in fluffy, rich soil. I don't know, maybe it has dyslexia! Whatever, but it's definitely alive. (Note to self: cut Russian Sage back back back in fall so as to avoid this confusion next year!)
Thanks to all for your swift and speedy diagnoses!
xxxxx, Carrie
Carrie - it needs full sun, no water, no fertilizer, thrives on neglect. Mine pouts and drops it's leaves when I start to take care of it.
I actually killed one this year, or rather I accidentally let husband do it, when we were moving a nice big plant, he put it in a bucket with no drainage holes, I didn't realize it and it died within the week, of course. Bummer.
If you move it, as I just moved the other one I had, it will probably sprawl all over and drop lots of (yellow) leaves from the extra watering, but I do expect this one to survive. If I ignore it completely for a little while. LOL
Then it's my kind of plant, that's for sure.
How do you make the sky stop watering it? 34 days and nights and counting...
xxxxx, Carrie
I take off all lthe old growth after the first several hard frosts, and this year, I cut the new growth off by half, just last week, to prevent it from getting too tall and flopping over. This is the second year it has come back, and we are zone 5. I don't cover it . The plant in front of it is a sage that came back.
It looks swell meezersfive! I have all flavors of sage, gold, purple and tricolor. They love it here too. :0)
Carrie, maybe this is what happens to it if it isn't in full sun. See it by the woodpile? This only gets a few hours of sun/day.
My posts and picture keep getting lost. I give up.