Blue Jean Baby Russian Sage Pruning

Blue jean baby russian sage pp 29281 is a compact selection of russian sage that gives you beautiful lavender blue spires of late summer color with a more manageable size in the landscape.

Blue jean baby russian sage pruning.

With most russian sage stems can split and fall making the whole display topple over but this variety doesn t even have that problem. The normal time to prune russian sage is early spring or mid spring depending on the strategy you adopt. It s not so heavy and won t flop over. These shorter stems grow fast to fill in a border and have no problem standing straight.

Thrives in average to lean fast draining soil. Once established reduce frequency. Water regularly in first growing season to establish root system. The fuzzy flowers are whorled around silver gray stems forming an unusual and eye catching scene.

Try it in cut and dried bouquets too the pretty blue blooms add a lot to the arrangement. Prune stems to about one foot in the spring to prevent the plants from becoming too woody. At the very least it s a good idea to cut off any dead branches to keep this perennial tidy. Perovskia blue jean baby common name russian sage thrives in the heat of summer a cloud of smoky blue perovskia in bloom is unforgettable.

Blue spire russian sage tends to grow more upright than the species with stems that reach 2 to 3 feet tall and wide. It is big in the eco friendly garden. The argument for pruning is that the plant will grow to be bushier as a result of this care. Blue jean baby one of the earliest perovskia to bloom is stunning when paired with rudbeckia and echinacea.

Russian sage must be planted in soil with good drainage and aeration as the plant s roots will rot if the soil is too wet. Avoid wet poorly drained soils. Russian sage can sometimes lodge or split its long beautiful stems toppling over instead of standing tall in the garden bed. Russian sage forms a purple haze in gardens starting in mid to late summer with its purple spires of bloom.

In early spring fertilize and prune to within several inches above the ground to promote dense growth and heavy bloom. Some gardeners choose to prune russian sage annually. That s why we like the compact habit of blue jean baby. For the average gardener pruning russian sage typically occurs on the ends of the growing season near the start and finish.

Cut the woody plant stems down to about 6 inches in early spring to make way for new growth. Compact bushy mound with fragrant silver foliage. For winter interest leave the seedheads and silvery stems in place until spring. Gray green foliage has a piney sage like scent and contrasts perfectly with those pollinator attracting blooms and it s highly deer resistant.

The straight species grows 3 to 5 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide.