Sage cutting tips

Contents

2. 01 Cut the steppe sage after the main flower
4. 02 Leave a few leaves standing
6. 03 Fertilise steppe sage after cutting
8. 04 Water the cut back steppe sage
9. Genuine sage: Cut back in late winter

 

 The genus sage includes both perennials and semi-shrubs. To keep the plants vital and flowering, the ideal time for cutting should not be missed.

many hobby gardeners have at least two different types of sage in their garden: the steppe sage (Salvia nemorosa) is a popular perennial with beautiful blue flowers, 

which is an excellent companion for roses. In the herb garden, 

on the other hand, you will find the real sage, one of the most important medicinal and kitchen herbs. 

Strictly speaking, it is a semi-shrub, as the older shoots are lignified. 

Here we explain how to cut both types of sage correctly.

Like most hardy perennials, the steppe sage dies above ground in autumn. 

In late winter, around mid-February, you should cut off the dead shoots with garden shears close to the ground to make room for the new shoots. 

Like delphiniums and fine rays, the steppe sage also sprouts again and blooms again in the same year if you cut it back close to the ground immediately after the main flowering. 

Gardeners call this characteristic, which is also found in the more often flowering roses, reassembling. 

Ideally, the flower stems should be cut off before they have completely withered. Depending on the variety, 

this means that the cutting time is between mid-July and the beginning of August. 

This may look a little bare at first, but by September at the latest the second flower will appear, which will last well into autumn. 

Here we show you step by step how to proceed with summer pruning.

01 Cut the steppe sage after the main flower

As soon as the flower shoots have withered, they are cut off with garden shears. If you have many plants in your garden, you can also do this in a time-saving way with sharp hedge trimmers. The correct cutting height corresponds to about a hand's breadth from ground level. However, a few centimetres more or less is not important.

 

02 Leave a few leaves standing

Just make sure that a few more leaves are preserved - this way the plant regenerates faster.

03 Fertilise steppe sage after cutting

With a little fertilizer you can accelerate the new sprouting. A mineral product is preferable here because the nutrients are immediately available for the plant.

04 Water the cut back steppe sage

Thorough watering after fertilization flushes the nutrient salts into the root zone. You also prevent burns caused by fertiliser balls on the leaves.

 Tip: You can also combine the steppe sage with bushy flowering perennials such as girl's eye or spurges to prevent bald spots in the bed caused by pruning. 

When combined, the Steppe Sage varieties also look very attractive, 

such as the pure blue 'Blauhügel' with its white offspring 'Adrian' or the darker, blue-violet 'Mainacht'. 

The latter opens the flowering season in May together with 'Viola Klose'. 

The other varieties follow from June.

Genuine sage: Cut back in late winter

Genuine sage is a typical Mediterranean semi-shrub: as with lavender and rosemary, the older shoots become woody, while the annual shoots remain predominantly herbaceous. 

Sage is not cut back until there are no more severe frosts to be expected - depending on the region, 

this is the case from the end of February to mid-March. Like the other semi-shrubs mentioned above, sage needs pruning every year to keep it compact. 

It also sprouts more vigorously and the leaves, which are harvested in summer, are of particularly good quality. 

But be careful: when pruning the half-shrub, always stay in the leafy area of the plant. 

If you prune the sage back to the bare, woody area, it usually sprouts again very slowly.