How to Propagate Salvia Greggii

Commonly called autumn sage, Salvia greggii grows wild across parts of southwestern Texas and northern Mexico. It is a common ornamental species of sage grown for its fuzzy foliage and showy flowers, which range in color from magenta to pale orange and white. Like all species of sage, Salvia greggii propagates effortlessly from softwood and hardwood cuttings taken during the summer months, and it will quickly reach a mature height of up to 4 feet under ideal growing conditions.

Things You'll Need

6-inch nursery pot
Coarse sand
Compost

Pruning shears
0.1-percent IBA (indole butyric acid) rooting hormone
Spray bottle

Instructions

- 1
  Fill a 6-inch nursery pot with a mixture of equal parts coarse sand and compost. Wet the growing medium with 3 cups of water. Prepare the rooting pot approximately a half hour before gathering the Salvia greggii cutting.
- 2
  Select a 4- to 6-inch-long cutting from a green or mature Salvia greggii stem. Find one with plenty of foliage and no flower buds or flowers.
- 3
  Make the cut with pruning shears or by pinching off the stem with your fingernails. Sever the cutting just below a pair of leaves.
- 4
  Peel off the bottom two sets of leaves. Treat the leafless portion of the Salvia greggii cutting with 0.1-percent IBA rooting hormone.
- 5
  Press the Salvia greggii cutting into the prepared pot of soil up to its bottommost set of leaves. Tamp the soil around the base of the cutting to hold it steady.
- 6
  Place the potted Salvia greggii cutting indoors near a well-lighted window or outdoors under light shade.
- 7
  Mist the foliage daily with a spray bottle. Spray the soil every three days to keep it moist 1 inch below the surface.
- 8
  Check for rooting in two to three weeks by carefully trying to lift the cutting from the growing medium. Rooting is indicated by a resistance to the lifting motion.
- 9
  Transplant the Salvia greggii cutting five to seven days after rooting. Plant it under the same conditions as the mother plant.

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