can my sage be saved?

I have a blackcurrant sage which looked beautiful at the end of last year, however, my rabbits ate pretty much the entire plant leaving nothing more than twigs! I was hoping it would start to come back this spring although so far i still have the same twiggy bits and they're looking rather woody (i think a combination of the bunnies and frost have killed most of it off). Does this mean the blighters have eaten it too far back so now it will never come back? There are two very small areas of purply coloured stem where there are some new leaves growing, but i have to stress they are tiny bits of stem - maybe around 2cm in length. Is there any way i can save it as i quite like it?!

 

I`d leave it alone for a couple of weeks and see what happens.:thumb:

 

Is there any green in the twiggy bits you mention? Try breaking off a piece of the wood and see. Sage roots quite easily as well so maybe try that?

 

excuse my ignorance but are you saying i could cut the piece of living twig and grow it? How do i do that? The piece of living bit is halfway down a stem, so there is what appears to be woody bits either side. its a purply colour and is definitely alive as the young new green leaves are growing. The rest of the plant has no leaves at all and appears woody. I haven't actually cut it but I can do that tomorrow to check if it definitely is or not.

 

Check tomorrow - try cutting off a piece of the woody growth and see if its green, therefore alive in some form or just dead wood and brittle. It'll be obvious. You can take a cutting if the wood is living by dipping a piece of it in rooting powder or gel and planting in compost. Leave the precious bits that have leaves appearing - they might recover and grow more, but I'd take cuttings as a belt and braces approach, seeing as you like the plant.

 

Leave it to it`s own devices for a couple of weeks to see what happens.

 

I prune sage hard every year. It's too early for the leaves yet. It will come and be better for it.:thumb:

 

As David says - I would certainly leave it. If it's showing new growth then it will certainly recover partly or fully. There are various types of sage; blackcurrant sage is Salvia microphylla, which is essentially a small shrub. Its a lovely thing because it flowers for a very long period of time - up to six months of the year. It is quite hardy (depending on your location - two sources quote hardy down to -10C, but its a variable plant) but not absolutely totally hardy, and I have heard of a number that have died this year. I put fleece over mine for the first time this winter. When it's knocked back by frost there is a good chance that it will sprout again from the bottom, and it sounds like thats what you have.

They are easy to take cuttings from, and will easily grow from seed. But wait till you have some good growth, so that any cutting material you take (roughly a four or six inch length) won't seriously deprive the mother plant. They do say that they get very woody and need to be replaced every 4 or 5 years. Though mine is now nearly 6 or 7 years old and still going strong (I hope).

When you have some good growth on it, come back and ask about how to make a cutting.

 

I agree about leaving it - but check a piece of the twiggy bit to see if there is green life still inside.

 

Even if it looks dead leave it. Mine always does but springs back to bushy life. I promise:flag:

 

Thank you all so very much for your advice - i'm very glad i found this forum as i have learnt so much already and its handy to have some experts to ask!!

I will follow the advice - check the 'woody' bits to see if alive, see what happens over next few weeks and take a cutting (i will be back on at that stage to ask how!)

Thank you all again!!