Purple sage - yellowing leaves

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Purple sage - yellowing leaves

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Mithril

Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 1755
Location: wessex

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 11 1:25 pm Post subject: Purple sage - yellowing leaves
My purple sage is not looking happy. The lower leaves are yellowing and dying off. It's not grown that well either. Yet the broad leaf, green, sage planted next to it is flourishing. Any ideas?

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 11 2:00 pm Post subject:

Lower leaves often yellow as they age & get shaded by the upper leaves.
Also it may just be a less vigorous variety.
I know most variegated & yellow leaved shrubs grow a lot slower than their green counterparts.
Usually though purple leaved shrubs have just as much chlorophyll as normal so maybe not that.
Did you tease the roots out when you planted?
They could still be spiralling around instead of stretching outward.
Or possibly just being out competed by its bigger brother, so moving it a little farther away may help.

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 11 2:06 pm Post subject:
I planted a purple sage this year to replace a huge green one. It's in a different location, but seems much less vigorous - I suspect it's the variety.

Mithril

Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 1755
Location: wessex

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 11 3:06 pm Post subject:
It's not that near anything else. It is very leggy compared with the green one, but then it was that way inclined when I bought it. The new growth looks very healthy though, so I think you are right, it's just the way it grows / ages. Maybe I need to use it more often

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42208
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 11 3:11 pm Post subject:
Or just keep pinching the tips out to encourage it to bush up.

Mithril

Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 1755
Location: wessex

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 11 3:15 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Or just keep pinching the tips out to encourage it to bush up.

Very true. I'm just loathed to lose the only healthy looking bits

Edit: Just had a closer look and some of the new leaves are yellow too

Not the new leaves on tips though - new leaves growing down further along the stem.

Millymollymandy

Joined: 23 Sep 2005
Posts: 187
Location: Brittany, France

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 11 6:34 am Post subject:
I bought a purple one which died the same year, tried again same thing, yet the variegated yellow/green one grew enormously, all in the same bed. That's now died off (after about 6 years) except for a bit which has reverted back to plain green!

Mithril

Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 1755
Location: wessex

Posted: Sun Jul 31, 11 2:37 pm Post subject:

Millymollymandy wrote:

I bought a purple one which died the same year, tried again same thing, yet the variegated yellow/green one grew enormously, all in the same bed. That's now died off (after about 6 years) except for a bit which has reverted back to plain green!

Hmm, I fear mine isn't going to last either. It even worse today

Don't think I'll bother replacing it - I'll try something different.

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