The perennial Salvias are a group of plants I grow a lot in my own garden and in the gardens I design for other people. In the mint family, Salvias are found, and you can tell because of the way the leaves look and the way the flowers are shaped. What really gives them away, though, is their smell—not that they smell minty, but that they smell so good. The scent of Salvia microphylla when brushed is one of my favourites in the garden.
The only real thing a gardener has to do is prune them every year. They are usually easy to take care of, though they are often soft or almost soft. Depending on where you are in the UK (south earlier, north later), this must be done in the spring, between April and May. The old stems must be left on all winter to protect the plant and keep cut stems from getting fungal infections.
Hot Lips salvia (Salvia microphylla) is beloved for its eye-catching two-toned red and white flowers that resemble beautiful lips. As a flowering perennial, Hot Lips salvia produces abundant blooms throughout the growing season. However, the blossoms eventually fade and die off. This brings up an important question – do you deadhead Hot Lips salvia?
The simple answer is yes. Deadheading is highly recommended for Hot Lips salvia to encourage continuous flowering. By removing spent blooms, you can promote the production of new buds and blooms. Continue reading to learn all about deadheading Hot Lips salvia and how it benefits the plant.
What is Deadheading?
Deadheading refers to the practice of removing faded or dying flowers from plants It involves pinching or cutting off the dead blooms just above a set of healthy leaves or leaf nodes using pruners or your fingers.
Deadheading prevents the plant from wasting energy on producing seeds. Instead, it redirects the plant’s resources towards forming new flower buds and blooms. Think of it as hitting the reset button on the blooming cycle.
Why Deadhead Hot Lips Salvia?
There are several key reasons to deadhead your Hot Lips salvia:
-
Encourages more blooms – Deadheading promotes continuous flowering by stopping seed production and signaling the plant to produce more buds. Hot Lips salvia will bloom longer when deadheaded.
-
Improves appearance – Removing spent flowers keeps plants looking neater and tidier, Dead blooms can look unsightly,
-
Promotes bushy growth – Deadheading causes lateral branching which makes plants bushier and more compact. This will keep your Hot Lips salvia bushy and compact.
-
Prevents diseases – Some fungal diseases can occur on dead and decaying plant matter. Deadheading helps prevent issues by improving air circulation and sanitation.
-
Maximizes plant health – By forcing the plant to keep flowering, you ensure it remains vigorously growing and productive.
When to Deadhead Hot Lips Salvia
The ideal time to deadhead Hot Lips salvia is when flowers start to fade, wilt, discolor, or droop. Do not wait until blooms have completely dried out. It is best to deadhead frequently, at least once a week during peak flowering.
Deadhead blooms down to the first set of full, healthy leaves. Make your cut just above the leaf nodes at a 45 degree angle. Be careful not to damage new buds that may be emerging below the spent flowers.
Deadhead spent blooms throughout the growing season to encourage more flowers to form. Start checking for faded blooms in mid-late spring and continue until fall when flowering naturally slows down.
Deadheading Tips
-
Use clean, sterilized pruners or garden scissors to make precise cuts. Pulling off blooms by hand can damage the plant.
-
Always cut back to just above healthy leaves, avoiding leaving stubs.
-
Remove spent blooms in the morning or evening when the plant is free of moisture. This helps prevent disease issues.
-
After deadheading, wash your pruning tools with soapy water and rinse well.
-
Discard removed plant debris in the trash or compost pile rather than leaving it around the salvia.
-
Fertilize your salvia after deadheading to nourish the plant for producing new blooms. Use a balanced fertilizer.
-
Group deadhead plants together at one time rather than spot deadheading here and there.
-
Deadhead diligently and frequently for best results. Mark your calendar to remind yourself.
Alternatives to Deadheading
If you simply don’t have the time or patience for regular deadheading, there are a couple lower maintenance options:
-
Let flowers fade on plant – Allow spent blooms to remain on the salvia plants over winter. Trim off in early spring before new growth emerges.
-
Cut back entirely – Cut back the entire plant by 1/3 to 1/2 after the first major flowering flush finishes. New growth will sprout from below.
However, both these methods are less ideal and will result in fewer blooms compared to routine deadheading.
Additional Care Tips
In addition to deadheading, follow these tips to keep your Hot Lips salvia thriving:
-
Plant in full sun
-
Allow soil to dry out between waterings
-
Apply a balanced fertilizer every 4-6 weeks during growing season
-
Prune lightly in early spring to shape and remove dead stems
-
Provide good winter drainage and ventilation
-
Divide congested plants in early spring every 2-3 years
Common Deadheading Mistakes
Here are some common mistakes to avoid when deadheading salvia:
-
Deadheading too early or late – Make sure blooms are spent before removing. Don’t wait until flowers are dried out.
-
Cutting too short – Always leave some leaves intact above your cut to avoid stubby growth.
-
Allowing cut stems to remain – Always discard removed stems as they can harbor pests and diseases.
-
Neglecting tools – Make sure pruners are clean, sharp, and sanitized before/after use.
-
Infrequent deadheading – Deadhead regularly, at least every 1-2 weeks for best results.
-
Damaging new growth – Gently remove spent blooms to avoid harming emerging buds underneath.
-
Forgetting to fertilize – Fertilize after deadheading to nourish the plant for re-blooming.
The Takeaway
Deadheading is highly beneficial for Salvia Hot Lips, significantly increasing its flowering performance. Removing spent blooms before they form seeds redirects the plant’s energy into producing more flower buds instead.
Aim to deadhead blooms as soon as they fade, wilt, or discolor. Make cuts just above healthy leaf nodes. Discard removed stems and debris.
Deadhead frequently, at least weekly, for continuous blooms from spring through fall. Keep your Hot Lips salvia looking lush and your garden buzzing with pollinators!
Herbaceous – evergreen rosette forming
Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ starting to grow in our garden.
Salvia lyrata, Salvia pratensis and the very popular in the UK, Salvia nemerosa fall into this group. In warm London, I can’t tell much difference between these Salvias and the previous herbaceous Salvias that lost their leaves in the fall. They all seem to grow the same way. But when it gets colder, it’s easy to tell the difference because this group stays mostly evergreen, and from fall to early winter, you can see a unique “crown” of new shoots growing at the base of the plant. Protected beneath the previous year’s growth.
Cutting off all of last year’s growth on this group of Salvias is easy because frost is no longer expected in the spring. Personally, here in our mild garden, for this group only I actually cut the stems off in winter. Not recommended in colder areas.
New shoots of Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ after pruning
Above, you can see that the Salvia nemerosa ‘Caradonna’ is getting a lot of new shoots at the bases of the stems from last year. These salvias, S. Nemerosa in particular flower in late spring to early summer. The flowers start to fade as the rest of your garden grows. In the summer, this is the time to be mean and cut the plant all the way back to the lowest shoots. This will spark new growth and another flush of flowers relatively soon afterwards. In a long season, you could also try this later in the summer, but not too late, or the growth won’t be strong enough to last through the winter.
Even though I like all salvias, this group might be my favorite. They are the hardiest and grow into different-sized shrubs with woody stems. Shrubby salvias include Salvia microphylla, Salvia greggii, Salvia involucrata, many hybrids and the edible herb sage, Salvia officinalis. Common cultivars in this group include ‘Hot Lips’, ‘Cerro Potosi’ and ‘Nachtvlinder’. Plus a lot more. If your plants grow into a bushy shape that doesn’t lose its leaves in the winter, they probably belong to this group.
The first two groups are pretty easy to prune by cutting back to the base. But the shrubby salvias need a little more thought. Again, leave growth on through winter to protect the plant from cold, snow and frost. Then strike when new growth is spotted in the warmth of early spring.
Remove all dead, diseased or damaged stems to clear the plant of tat. Then, cut it back by a third to a half to a growing point, which is made up of two sets of leaves with shoots going through them. This will help the plant keep its shape and size, and it will also keep it from growing too big and turning into a tangled, open mess. It’s a little like the way you’d prune lavender but less tidily.
The Salvia microphylla ‘Cerro Potosi’ in the middle of this picture, which was taken right after I pruned it in our garden, is hard to see. It looks sparse but now it’s growing will soon bush up.
I have found that if you cut below the lowest shooting nodes, new shoots will grow, but the plant will move a little more slowly. So you can hard prune if you want. It’s bad that when you prune trees too hard, the new shoots that grow from old wood have weak joints that break easily in strong winds. Much better then to keep the strong structure.
You can let shrubby salvias do their thing in the summer, but they can get a bit messy when the flower stems die and the plants are left with bare branches. Not really a problem at all but I do snip these off to lower shoots. If you have a big garden, you can speed up this process by cutting the bush lightly with secateurs to get rid of all the old flowers and some new ones. This will encourage more flowers fairly soon after. You could also just let them do their thing and ignore the little twiggly flower stems that are dead.
Herbaceous – deciduous
Salvia ‘Amistad’ in our garden, one of many cuttings I’ve taken from the original plant. S. ‘Amistad’ is a hybrid between S. guaranitica and S. gesnerifolia.
Herbaceous salvias are the ones that usually die back to the ground in the winter. They include the well-known Salvia ‘Amistad’ and the new, closely related cultivar ‘Amante.’ They also include Salvia azurea, Salvia elegans (pineapple sage), Salvia engelmanii, and Salvia guaranatica, to name a few.
In the UK, many of this group die back because they aren’t particularly hardy and are conservatory plants. But to use the well-known “Amistad” as an example, I leave the main stems through the winter. In cold winters, they will die completely. In mild winters here in Clapham, London they can remain alive and even flower all winter. Either way, the pruning is the same.
Wait until spring is fully here and fresh new growth can be seen on the stems before cutting them down to their lowest shooting node. In this case, new shoots are coming up from the base, which means I can get rid of the old stems completely.
New shoots from Salvia ‘Amistad’ after pruning
The finished product, with new stems coming up from the ground. These need to be protected from slugs and snails, but they quickly grow away from them when it gets warm in the spring. When the stems are still alive, I cut them about 30 to 40 cm above the ground and let the shoots grow higher up. This keeps the lower shoots safe from slimy animals that like to eat them.
How and When to Prune Three Types of Salvias – including Leucantha and Hot Lips
FAQ
Do you cut down hot lips after flowering?
Are you supposed to deadhead salvias?
How do you care for hot lips salvias?
How to care for salvias after flowering?