IS THIS SALVIA GREGGII DEAD

Hi I planted this salvia mirage soft pink last year and loved it . It flowered all summer until November and looked great next to Blue Spiraea.
It's gradually lost its leaves through winter and now looks dead . I'VE read you prune them back in late spring but do you think this will come back or is it a gonna.

 

You never know. Where abouts in the world are you? Did you have a cold winter?

 

Thanks Fire . I'm in Merseyside so not a particularly cold winter just the one cold snap down to minus 5 for a couple of days and a few other light frosts . Other than that it's been really mild and everything else seams to have come through OK.
Just this salvia and another different type of salvia look dead . Have you any experience with salvia greggii in particular as I really liked this plant.
If its a waiting game how long should I wait before I pull it up.
Thanks again.

 

I haven't grown this particular one, but a fair few other S. Greggii. I would probably wait until May to see if you get any shooting.

 

Thanks fire

 

Hi Dropmore, I had the same concerns with mine today. Like you they were new to me (I have Red Swing) & flowered into November, I have 2 next to each other & had cut back one a bit earlier but the one I hadn’t touched looked exactly the same as yours.I gave it a bit of a tidy up today & went a bit too far I think now but to answer your question, the thicker stems were definitely still alive. The one I cut back earlier is sprouting from the base so I am going to leave them both alone now & see what happens.

 

Thanks Panda that's reassuring I'll do the same .

 

I've had several other years which mimic yours as it is now.

leaves do start again but it's a bit early yet .Will let you know when mine start with Tiny green foliage

 

Mine look like this and start coming from the bottom of plant

 

Thanks Purple Streaks . Sounds promising and I'll know what to look out for now

 

You could maybe try the fingernail test ? Just gently scrape away the bark towards the base of the plant and see if there is any green showing through. If so, there's life in the old thing yet.
Here in the South West it has been comparatively mild all Winter, but l'm not cutting my salvias back until at least mid April, so l would wait until at least then where you are .

 

Hi AnniD , that's interesting I'll give that a try later on after breakfast .

 

Most salvias don't do well here at all - it's always about location and climate for any plant @Dropmore , so if you can add your general location to your profile, that helps with advice for any plant, and there was a thread started yesterday highlighting that. Doesn't have to be your actual address
I only grow S. caradonna, which is pretty reliable, although I had a look at mine yesterday and it looks a bit dodgy. Wet cold is generally useless for them, and it's long term colder conditions that cause problems. Short colder spells are easier for many plants.

 

The shrubby ones do prefer drier feet @fairygirl.
Most of mine are already shooting (they like my sandy soil) and it's sooooo tempting to cut them back, but I'm trying to hold off for at least a couple of weeks. I was at Harlow Carr (a bit further north than me and wetter) last week - they hadn't cut back their yet, and some didn't have any green shoots visible so I guess they're playing the "wait and see" game too.

 

My shrubby Salvia 'Cerro Potti' is already budding up and I'll soon prune the dead bits, ( around 3 inches) off the ends of the branches. They don't sprout from the base at all. Mine are quite old now and I'm surprised but pleased just how long they've lasted.