How to Trim Jerusalem Sage

The large clusters of yellow flowers, held aloft on tall stems, make Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa) a striking addition to the landscape. It flowers in early summer, but a timely trim encourages subsequent flushes of fresh blooms. Jerusalem sage grows as an evergreen in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, but the roots survive winter and the plant remains perennial in zones 5 through 7. It only requires light pruning to clean it up before annual growth resumes each spring and to keep it flowering during the summer.

Bleach
Shears

Instructions

- 1
  Rinse pruning shears in a solution of one part bleach and three parts water before trimming to disinfect them. Rinse the shears between plants if you are trimming more than one plant.
- 2
  Cut back the dead flower stalks after the first flush of bloom in early summer. Trim the stalks back to the foliage. Removing the dead flowers prevents seed growth and thus encourages the plant to produce more blooms.
- 3
  Continue to remove the flowers as they wilt during subsequent flowering cycles throughout summer. Remove the trimmed stems from the garden after each pruning and dispose of or compost them.
- 4
  Cut back the shrub by up to a third of its height in late winter, before new growth resumes, if it becomes overgrown or too large in zones where it remains evergreen. Shape the bush as you cut it back so it retains a mounded shape. Jerusalem sage tolerates hard pruning, but the plant rarely requires it. In colder climates where the plant dies back completely, cut down the dead wood to the ground in late winter before new growth resumes.

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