The ‘Hot Lips’ plant (Salvia microphylla ‘Hot Lips’) is admired for its vibrant, bi-colored flowers and aromatic foliage, blooming continuously throughout warmer months. Regular pruning ensures its health, robust growth, and abundant flowers.
Why and When to Prune
Pruning ‘Hot Lips’ salvia serves several purposes. It encourages a denser, bushier form, leading to more flowering stems and a fuller appearance. Removing older, woody, dead, or diseased material improves air circulation, preventing issues and directing energy towards healthy new growth. It also maintains an attractive shape.
The most substantial pruning should occur in late winter to early spring, just before new growth emerges. This allows the plant to recover and channel energy into fresh stems and leaves as weather warms. Throughout the active growing season, lighter pruning, such as deadheading spent flowers, encourages continuous blooming and keeps the plant tidy.
How to Prune for Optimal Growth
When pruning ‘Hot Lips’ salvia, use clean, sharp bypass pruners to ensure precise cuts that heal quickly and minimize plant stress. Make cuts just above a leaf node or an outward-facing bud, where new growth emerges. This encourages the plant to grow outwards rather than inwards, creating a more open, healthy structure.
The extent of pruning depends on your goals. For light maintenance or deadheading, snip spent flowers and leggy growth by a few inches, cutting to the next healthy leaves.
To encourage a bushier plant and maintain shape, moderately prune in early spring by cutting back one-third to one-half of its size. This promotes vigorous new shoots.
For overgrown or neglected plants, a severe rejuvenating prune can be done in early spring by cutting the entire plant back to 6 to 12 inches from the ground, ensuring some healthy buds or foliage remain. This revitalizes woody or leggy plants.
Always remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches at their base to improve plant health and structure.
After Pruning Care
After pruning your ‘Hot Lips’ salvia, adequate care helps the plant recover and thrive. Water thoroughly, especially if the soil is dry, to support new root and shoot development. This is beneficial after significant pruning.
A light application of a balanced, slow-release fertilizer can be beneficial after heavy pruning to provide nutrients for robust new growth. Avoid over-fertilizing, as this can lead to excessive leafy growth at the expense of flowers. Monitor the plant for signs of new growth, which emerges quickly, signaling healthy recovery and abundant future blooms.