Cutting back wood sages after flowering
Some plants give you a lot of bang for your buck. The wood sages are one of them. They flower for at least the whole of June, and if you cut them back after flowering, they’ll do the same thing again!
Cutting back Salvia is easy to do and has a big impact. If you have them, do it!
Watch the video and read on for more details:
Salvia vs wood sage. What's the deal?
Wood sage is a common name for some types of Salvia. Let me explain…
You’ll also hear names like woodland sage, Balkan sage, and Balkan clary for the same plant. It’s a little confusing, which is why I normally stick with Latin names.
But these are a little different.
Wood sages include Salvia nemorosa and S. x sylvestris. The latter is a naturally occurring hybrid between the former and S. pratensis (Meadow Clary). The hybrid occurs naturally in the wild because S. nemorosa and S. pratensis grow alongside each other in the meadows of Central Europe.
Anyway, it turns out that wood sages are incredible garden plants!
Why cut back wood sages?
As you already know, cutting back wood sage after flowering results in a second flush of flowers. Is that not reason enough? Ok, let me give you more.
Bees love Salvia. That’s awesome because wood sages flower early when there’s not much else flowering. An early nectar supply is a great thing. But by the time they’ve finished flowering, normally in early July, there are loads of other things flowering.
They deserve a break.
Other plants can carry the baton for a while, and the wood sages can take over again later in the year when there’s another drop in available nectar.
There’s something else. Some of the bigger wood sages, such as ‘Tuisalv’, can start to splay out after flowering. In other words, they become a bit messy and can intrude on other plants’ privacy. By cutting back hard, we control this. We get fresh growth from low down resulting in a stronger plant.
When to cut back wood sages?
Your plants will tell you when to cut them back. Look out for a dramatic decrease in flowering. There will still be a few flowers close to the tips that are plodding on, but they are worth sacrificing.
This normally works out as cutting back in early July, but let the plant guide you on this.
Let me know how you get on
Please leave a comment below to let me know if you do this to your wood sages. And don’t forget to come back and say when you’re enjoying the second flush!
Happy growing.
Joe
Joe Vary Dip. Hort (Wisley), MCIHort, CMTGG
I'm a gardener, educator, consultant, and planting designer. Learn with me 1-to-1, or join my mentoring group and community.