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This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 1:51

i want them as full & tall as possible. i have a 3' wide x 100' long strip along my driveway & i'm using the sage & common day lilies as low maintenance fill & for erosion control. the ground is not the best there but i'm gradually building it up with manure & compost. at a another location that had better soil the russian sage became borderline invasive it spread so much. another plus for the sage is that the honeybees are all over it.

It might just take a while before your r sage suckers. Mine have been in about three years and all I see are seedlings, no suckers yet. Next door it's been in longer and yes there are suckers sprouting up here and there. I treat both plantings the same, trim down in spring and let em go all year.

In Larry Hodgson's book 'Perennials for Every Purpose,' the information about Russian sage says, "Don't cut the plants back to the base in Spring because they normally sprout from above ground level." Instead, it recommends cutting back the plants to about 1 ft. in height. My own plants tend to flop which is annoying but since I want them in my garden beds for more than their growth habit/appearance (they attract pollinators) I'm willing to put up with whatever they choose to do.

I haven't noticed them spreading or self-seeding in any of my beds.

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This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 1:52

i have found that if you lay outer branches on the ground & cover a portion of the branch with dirt that the branch will root helping to spread the plant's footprint. i'm a beekeeper & i'm always looking for plants the honeybees like. this is definitely one of those plants. when the blooms are peaking it is loaded with bees. the pollen & nectar must be waining tho since even tho it's still blooming the bees are now ignoring it. same thing with my oregano ( another bee favorite ) it's still in bloom but bee activity has dropped off.
now i need to figure out how to get lavendar to survive. i've never had much luck with lavendar or tarragon.

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This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 1:54

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This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 1:53

i do have those. they start leaking their fragrance just before they open & the bees are entering them before they open & linger til after dark. this spring i saw holly that had been fashioned into a hedge that was covered with bees making it a good early source for them. i also saw some potentilla that the girls were attracted too. that's a good one since it blooms most of the summer. i have several large patches of the common orange cosmos they work fairly steady as well.

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This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 1:55

I cut mine in spring, and not right to the ground but leaving a woody framework - the thicker branches are left longer than thinner twiggy ones. I actually do no pruning for at least the first 3 years because it needs to build up a bit of a woody base. Cutting it back in autumn is a deathknell for many of these sub-shrubs (lavender for example) but a summer trim to keep it shorter but wider, is perfectly OK. It will sprout more vigorously on the newer thinner wood.....but the older tougher woody branches perform a vital supporting role.

Don't mean to hijack the thread but must weigh in on the Agastache rupestris. I grew it from seed via winter sowing a few years ago and planted it out. Not only has it returned year after year, the bees are on it the whole growing season. Even though it grew too tall for the spot where I planted it, I stopped myself from yanking it out or moving it due to the bee activity. I'm easy--if they love it, I love it. If they're happy with where it's growing, so am I.

hijack away. i know quite a few plants that the bees love but i'm always looking for more.

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This post was edited by GreatPlains1 on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 1:56