mine is beginning to look leggy. Is there time I do I have to wait til next year?
when is the best time to prune texas sage?
You can prune it any time, that is the neat thing thing about it, although in hot weather I would not prune it too severely.
Josephine.
thanks, josephine
I have some TX sage as well and have pruned in winter and in warm months. It seems to mildly struggle back in warmer months but my goodness they are hardy! I don't think you can harm them!
I had one planted in full sun when I first moved into my house. It became quite leggy over the years. I pruned it; however, I pruned it incorrectly. After a month or so, it looked worse than it did before I pruned it. The bottom and inside parts of the plant did not receive the proper amount of light and the leaves and branches started to thin out. I finally had to pull it out when the oak trees grew so large that it no longer received enough full sun and my pruning ,mthods made it look just awful. Later, I read an article about them that described how to prune them as well as most other shrubs. Be sure to taper the plant somewhat leaving the bottom wider than the top so that the bottom sections receive enough light and are not shaded by the top sections. Don't shear them. In other words, use hand pruners to selectively remove parts of branches to reduce the size at varying lengths. Also, try to prune it following its natural shape. It is best to prune them in late winter or very early spring (late January, February or March in more nortehn sections of Texas) if they need to be heavily pruned before they start to put on new foliage. The rule of thumb is to cut them back by about 1/3 (they can be cut back more if really over grown, but it will may take them a long time to recover. I cut one of mine down to about 1.5 feet in the hot summer one year thinking that it would grow out bushier. It died. :o( However, they can be lightly pruned now. It might be best to prune back some now and then wait a month and prune it back some more after it has recovered from the first pruning since it is alraedy hot. You will lose some of the budwood and hus blooms for a while in the areas you pruned, but it is better than the plant looking awful. Too much shade, water or fertilizer can cause them to become leggy.
thanks hazel, I will do as you recommend. I tend to go "shear happy" and have regretted it more than once...
on another subject, what do you do with your cardoon. mine has the beautiful flowers at their prime now, and most of the leaves have died. I also see two little babies at the base. should I cut off the mother plant? I only want to have one cardoon, as they get so big. One is dramatic enough, more would be an invasion, lol
everybody's comments are so appreciated,always
The best time to prune Texas Sage at my house is when my dog decides it is time to prune. He handled it and I was amazed it survived. He also digs holes where he wants me to plant things... At least he is neutered to he doesn't water for me. Gardening with animals. Sigh
Podster, That is just too funny!
Pets... you gotta love them to put up with it!
vossner, you are quite welcome. I have never grown cardoon so I can't answer your question. Maybe someone else can.
podster, I have a digger dog and I have a knock over and stomp the plants dog. The digger dog has dug huge holes in the soil floor of my greenhouse now. Maybe he was telling me I need to plant all the plants I have in there in the ground. The stomp the plants dog even knocks over huge containers as he plays the "catch the squirrel game" and the "catch the butterfly game". The older and wiser digger dog gave up trying to catch squirrels and butterflies a long time ago. Unfortunately, they both help me water. I think maybe they are both pretty smart because now they both are inside dogs most of the time so that my plants are not totally destroyed. They love the airconditioning. Now the inside of my house is being destroyed. :o)
Hazel, I was beginning to think I had lost my mind! lol when I was cruising thru the plant files I saw this entry and some pics you posted. Were they from a neighbor's garden, maybe? That was why I had asked you.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/913/index.html
Nope, you hadn't lost your mind. The ones I took photos of were at the San Antonio Botanical Garden entryway. Indeed, they are really huge plants. After doing a little research, I would cut off the the blooms as soon as they fade so that no seeds are produced. They can become invasive by self-seeding. I would also cut off the mother plant removing the unsightly rosette leaves. Check out this link ... the information is a bit scary.
http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/detailreport.cfm?usernumber=38&surveynumber=182