How Do You Trim a Sage Bush & at What Time of the Year?

About Sage

• Sage grows from 1 to 3 feet tall and up to 3 feet wide, depending on cultivar, in full sun in moist soil with good drainage. The plant can die out in heavy clay soil. It can be propagated by cuttings or by burying a stem under the soil at a node until it roots. The species plant is gray-green with slightly fuzzy elongated oval leaves. There are also named cultivars that add color, as well as their pungent scent, to your herb garden, flower border or container. "Tricolor," suitable for USDA zones 6 to 9, is variegated cream, green and purple; "Purpurascens" is gray-purple and hardy in zones 5 through 8; and "Aurea" is variegated yellow and green and is suitable for zones 6 through 9.

Annual Pruning

• Sage branches becomes woody as the plant ages and often become leggy, dying out at the base. While the subshrub is considered short lived in the garden -- usually needing replacement every four or five years -- a deep annual pruning each spring just as new growth emerges keeps tender foliage coming, maintains a compact form and extends the life of the plant. Do not, however, cut the plant back to the ground. New foliage does not emerge from dead wood. Leave at least one set of new leaves on each stem, and cut any stems that are fully dead -- or more leggy than you like -- back to the ground.

Harvesting

• Sage looks good as a landscape plant, but don't forget to put the herb to use in the kitchen to flavor poultry or use in stuffings and other dishes. Because you're removing leaves, consider harvesting a form of pruning as well. For best flavor if you plan to dry sage, remove clusters of leaves at the base before the plants begin to flower in late spring. Fresh sage can be harvested for use at any time; the youngest leaves -- those on the top 4 inches of each branch -- are the most flavorful.

Post-Bloom

• Sage sends up attractive blue-to-purple flower spikes from late spring through midsummer. Deadhead the central flower spike at the top of each stem back to its base -- or better yet, pinch it between your fingernails to avoid inadvertently cutting away the two smaller flower spikes that grow up on either side of it. Cut plants back by as much as you like to shape the plant, encourage more flowers or for kitchen use. There are two caveats: Leave at least four or five sets of live leaves on each stem, and don't prune within six weeks of your first frost date. Pruning too late in the season can prompt tender new growth that then dies back.