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piers66

By Piers66

Surrey, United Kingdom

How hard to prune Salvia Amistad?

I have two Salvia Amistads, one in the ground and one in a pot, both bought last year. Having read that they're semi-hardy, depending on the local climate, and that they grow pretty much from scratch each year I gave them a bit of a prune some weeks back while tidying up generally.

The one in the ground still has quite a few of last year's leaves on it, and though straggly, doesn't seem to have been hit too hard by the mild winter so far. It has one newish leaf coming, but that's it.

The one in the pot lost all its leaves, so I pruned it a bit harder. It has a few very small buds appearing near the base of the plant.

The question is, should I prune them more, e.g. almost to the base as I've read in a few places online, and when's the right time to do it?

Piers.




Answers

 

The new growth will all come from the base. Everything above ground from last year will die back and should be pruned clean to the ground.

'These salvias are very simple to prune. When they're through flowering, simply cut those stems all the way down to the ground. It needs to be done once or twice a year. They will still flower if you don't but you'll get more blooms and the plant will look 100% better if you do.'
https://www.joyusgarden.com/pruning-salvias/

6 Mar, 2019

 

Watch out slugs and snails on the new growth on the outside one

6 Mar, 2019

 

Hello,

Thanks for the replies.

In the end I didn't prune them both to the ground, as I was curious to see what would happen if not.

Both plants are showing signs of new growth, not just from the base, but also from further up the existing stems. Maybe it's the mild winter we've had, but they don't seem to have died back.

In a couple of weeks time, when there's enough to be clear I'll post an update photo.

Piers.

27 Mar, 2019

How do I say thanks?

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