If you grow blue rue (Perovskia atriplicifolia) in your garden, then you know how bad it can look after winter. All the dead branches will make your plant look ugly and half dead. That's why it's important to know how to prune blue rue to keep it looking beautiful all summer long. But don't worry! When it comes to pruning plants, this plant is one of the easiest jobs to do.
Why should you cut blue diamond?
Pruning is an important part of plant care. If you don't cut the blue rue, it will become very overgrown and woody, which doesn't look very nice. It is also important to know that after winter this plant stops growing at the tips and the branches die back towards the bottom. The dead branches that protrude over the leaves in spring will remain standing all summer if you don't cut them back.
When should you prune the plant?
You can cut out the dead growth at any time without harming the plant. The bestTime for pruninghowever, it is spring. We find it easier to wait until the leaves start to grow before pruning the rue so you know exactly where to cut.
If you prefer, you can also prune your plant while it is dormant. Since you can't over-prune a blue diamond, you don't have to worry about exactly where to cut. Spring pruning is a good time to shape the plant if you want beautifully shaped, round growth.
Tools for cutting
The stems of the blue rue are woody and can be quite thick in places, so we recommend pruning shears. If you have a large shrub, you can use a hedge trimmer or electric hedge trimmer to make cutting easier. Whatever garden tool you use, make sure it is always cleaned and sharpened before cutting the blue diamond.
Methods for cutting blue diamond
There are three techniques for pruning blue diamond. You can cut it back to the ground, trim it to shape, or wait for new growth to appear before cutting the plant
1. Cut back to the ground
If your rue is very woody and has never been cut, you may want to cut it back to the ground. This rejuvenates the plant and grows fuller and bushier. You can use this technique every year to make pruning easier if you want, and it won't harm the plant. However, only use this method in early spring when the plant is still dormant and the leaves have not yet begun to grow.If your plantsalready have leaves, you should use methods 2 or 3 instead and wait until next spring to prune.
2. Make a topiary
With this method, you can use hedge trimmers or electric hedge trimmers to give the Russian bush a nice round shape. As already mentioned, you can't kill the blue rue if you prune it too much. If you have large bushes, you should even act aggressively. If you use this method, you should cut back large plants to about three feet tall.
3. Wait for new growth before cutting
This is a preferred method, but it is also the most laborious. That's why I've included a step-by-step guide below for pruning Russian sage using this method...
Step 1:Find the new growth – Find the spot on the branch where the new leaves have started to grow. Typically this location is at the bottom of the branch, but on some branches it can be much higher up. If one of the branches sticks out much higher than others, you can trim it back to the same length to keep the plant shapely. But you can leave them longer if you don't care about the shape of the plant.
Step 2:Cut directly above the new leaves –CutCut back the old growth with pruning shears or precision scissors just above where the new foliage is growing. Try to make the cut as close to the leaves as possible, because any part of the dead branch that still sticks out will remain intact throughout the summer. When they are still small, the new leaves are very delicate and can break easily, so be careful. But don't worry, if you accidentally rip a few off it won't be a big deal. They will grow back.
Step 3:Remove dead branches – If you find dead branches that no longer have new leaves, you can cut them down to the ground. Often the dead branches break easily, so you can simply snip them off at the base if that's easier.
You can use any of the three methods each year for the different blue rue varieties. You can also alternate these methods from year to year to keep your plant growing beautifully and in shape.
