Fixing Your Floppy Salvias
Solutions to keep salvias from flopping over
Salvia plants are beautiful and easy to grow, but they do have one major flaw. When it's hot outside, the leaves of Salvia can wilt or even roll over in a process called flopping. This is usually due to several reasons which we will go over in detail below. If your Salvias are flopping this summer, follow these steps to make them happy again!
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Reasons Salvias Flop
“Salvias like well-drained soil.”
There are a few different reasons why your perennial salvias might be drooping and luckily there are some ways to fix them too!
Too Much Water
Salvias don't like to be in wet soil. Too much water on the roots from overwatering or sitting in wet soil for an extended period of time can cause salvia plants to droop or flop over. Be sure that you don't overwater or even water at all if there's been rainfall recently.
Salvia likes to be in well-drained soil and tends to do better in sandy soils than in heavy, rich soil.
Salvias are drought tolerant so don't be afraid to let them go dry for a while, but make sure not to water at all if the soil is already wet.
If your salvia plant is drooping due to too much water, it will recover from the stress in a few weeks.
Perennial Salvias
This salvia is looking beautiful, healthy, and full of deep purple blooms. This is how you want your salvias to look.
Lack of Sunlight
Salvias need a lot of sun to grow. If they aren't getting enough, the leaves will turn limp and droop down from their usual perky state. Make sure that you are planting salvia in an area with ample sunlight. If salvias aren't getting full sun they will flop and stretch to reach the sunlight.
Also make sure that the surrounding area isn't too shady because this can slow the rate of evaporating moisture, which can otherwise cause your plants to droop.
If your plant is in a pot or container and it's not getting enough sun, try moving the potted salvia to another spot where there is more direct sunlight.
You can see that my flowers are too heavy and have flopped over. This was after a very heavy downpour.
These salvias are not getting enough light because my roses are blocking their sunlight. It will be time to divide and move probably in the fall.
Too Much Fertilizer
Another reason your salvias might droop is too much fertilizer. Salvias are light feeders and don't need a lot of food.
If you overfertilized your salvias with a nitrogen rich fertilizer, they will eventually become too large for their roots to take up all the nutrients in the soil. This can cause your plants to droop because there is not enough space inside of the root system for water and oxygen.
To help restore your plant's health, don't fertilize anymore and let it recover. The next season, your saliva will be happy and strong produce those beautiful deep purple flowers.
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Fungal Diseases
If there is too much moisture around the roots, fungus can grow there. Fungal diseases can not only ruin the plant but the soil as well.
If your salvia has a fungal disease, it will not only droop but the leaves will be distorted and covered in black spots. Salvias with this problem should be removed from the soil or pot as soon as possible to prevent the spreading of spores.
If you can't remove all infected salvias right away, try using an organic fungicide to help control the disease while you work on removing all of them.
Solutions for Floppy Salvias
If your salvias are flopping over you have come to the right place for solutions. Here are some potential solutions to fix your flopping salvias.
Deadhead Salvias
Deadhead spent blooms as soon as they fade away from the plant's center, which encourages lateral branching of new shoots with more vigorous flower production at the end of each stem.
If you deadhead your salvia you will get a second flush of blooms as well as a stronger, denser plant.
Deadheading will also improve air circulation around the root zone.
Just make sure you deadhead before the plant goes to seed. Deadheading encourages the plant to put its energy into lateral growth and flowering rather than seed production.
Deadheading salvias will encourage blooming throughtout the season.
Prune Salvias
If your plant has grown quite large deadheading might not be enough to prevent flopping over. You might want to be more aggressive and prune the plant back after flowering.
After the salvia blooms you can cut it back about 1/3 to encourage new growth and for it to be more compact.
Cutting your salvias back will keep it from flopping over and give you an earlier second bloom.
Pruning salvias can be a great option if your plant is getting too large and leggy.
Stake Salvias
Staking salvias, especially the taller varieties like 'Coral Reef,' will help keep them upright. Simply prop up your plants with stakes or bamboo poles to give them more support and allow room for air around their leaves to provide a healthier plant. You can find stakes and various garden supplies at Dollar Tree.
Divide Salvias
When your salvias get big and floppy it is probably a good idea to divide them. By dividing your salvias, you will end up with more plants for less time and work!
To divide your plant, follow these steps:
Dig up the plant, making sure to get as much of the root system as possible.
Separate your salvias into two sections by cutting them at their natural break in growth. The more roots below that cut line, the healthier and happier it will be.
Replant in a new location.
Divide your salvias about every two years. The best time to divide them is in the springtime.
A benefit of dividing your plants is that you can move them throughout your garden. This way, the plant will get more light and space to grow in various places instead of being confined to just one place.
This gives the plant plenty of room to grow as well as letting it go through its natural cycle so that new growth is encouraged.
These steps should help fix flopping salvia!
Planting Tips to Prevent Floppy Salvias
Choose a spot in your garden that has plenty of light and space to grow. Salvias thrive in full sun. So make sure the plant will be getting a lot of sunlight. If it's not, move them to an area with more sun or choose another type of flower if you need something that will grow in shade.
Salvias like well-drained soil, so make sure there is adequate drainage where you plan to plant your salvias. If your soil isn't the best you can always amend it with compost, sand, or other materials to help improve it.
Avoid planting too close together. Space them about 1 to 3 feet apart when planting. This will give them room to spread out and become healthy as well.
Also, don't overwater your salvia, it doesn't need a lot of water and likes to be on the drier side. When watering, think less is more.
Fertilize it once a growing season. That is all it needs. Anything more than that is too much and will make the plant more floppy, which can cause them to die.
Plan on deadheading after it blooms the color begins to fade to encourage new growth and continuous blooms throughout the summer.
Cut back your plant after the first hard frost to around an inch or two above the ground. Apply a layer of mulch around the plant to protect it during the winter.
Every few years divide your plant, which will increase the number of salvias in your garden and keep them looking good.
Floppy salvia is a common problem for gardeners. If you’ve found that your salvias are drooping and wilting, then it might be because they require more sun or less water than what they're getting at the moment. It's important to find out how much care your plants need so that you can prevent them from flopping in the future. These tips should help keep your salvias standing tall all summer long!
