moving mexican salvias

[courierdude]

hi all

i am having to move some plants to allow builders access to an out building and have to move a lot of plants.

i have a mexican salvia that is about 2 and half metres right now and still growing taller and i am wondering if it is ok to lift the plant and its tubers/rhizomes(?) while they are still growing or will this damage them as they normally are left to die down as i believe this is where the stored enrgy comes from to produce next years growth..?

clearly i dont know what i am talking about but would like to know even if they were chopped down that they would be ok for next year?

thanks

[David E. Ross]

Salvias do not have tubers or rhizomes. They merely have roots.

Perennial and shrub salvias -- including both S. leucantha (Mexican bush sage) and S. mexicana (Mexican sage) -- can easily be propagated by rooting cuttings. I suggest you take several cuttings right now and try to root them. Then when your construction project is done, replace the old plant (if it survives) with the new plants.

[Higgs Boson]

Are you planning to resettle the plant permanently? Or put it back when th e builders have finished?

If the latter, you could lift it out with its undercarriage and resettle it in a holding area if you have such a thing. If not, you could fill a very large planter or a half-barrel with good soil and some worm castings, and just park the plant there until it's time to relocate it back home.

Also, how long will the builders need access? Where do you live, and how c old will it be when the plant get transplanted "home" (if that's the case.)

OTOH, if this is a permanent move, and you transplant into a well-prepared bed, why would you WANT to "chop" it down?

HB

[Brooklyn1]

I'd leave the salvia alone, matters not if it gets trampled. it'll grow back. If you're worried dig up a few with roots and plant elsewhere.

[courierdude]

Salvias do not have tubers or rhizomes. They merely have roots.

whe i was given these plants they were large hollow tubes maybe 10 inch long and about an inch in diameter. i know they are not really tubers or rhizomes but i cant described what they were as they were a little more substantial than just roots. maybe youre right.

im waiting to on sale of land to continue with a house purchase but i dont know how long it is going to take so the plants might have to live in pots for a while as i plan on taking a few bits and pieces that i have planted myself.