How To Divide Russian Sage

Russian sage is a 3 to 5-foot tall perennial with purplish blue flowers and silver foliage. It has fragrant leaves and it blooms from mid-summer season to the fall. It is a good plant for fall color in the garden, to use for dried or cut flowers, or to attract butterflies. Russian sage can be propagated by division every three years in the spring season or fall.

Step 1

Make sure the plant isn't in active bloom and that the buds are dry. Russian sage is not in active bloom when the buds are dry, even though it may still look active.

Step 2

Cut down the stems to approximately 6 to 8 inches high with garden trimmers. After cutting, dig up the plant with a shovel, creating a wide circle around it to get as much rootball as can be salvaged.

Step 3

Remove soil around the roots and divide them into thirds if the plant is big enough, (in half if it is small). Pull the roots apart with your hands.

Step 4

Keep the roots in water while you are transplanting.

Step 5

Dig a new hole as deep as the length of the roots for divided plants with shovel, adding in manure and compost to add nutrients to the soil.

Step 6

Set the plant's crown at the surface of the dirt, pulling dirt around the plant's roots as you continue.

Step 7

Water Russian sage after the rootball has completely been covered in amended soil (soil with the added nutrients in step 5) and patted down (to ensure stability).

Step 8

Mulch around the plant when the ground is about to freeze, sometime before the first "hard freeze" in your area. Mulching prior to ground freeze will keep the plant insulated and ensure it survives the winter.