Hello Ms. Sullivan,

I was wondering if you could help me with this problem. I have a bunch of Rose of Sharon trees in my yard, and transplanted some to another spot. Well about 5 minutes after putting them in the ground they began wilting. Some really bad the next day. Is this transplant shock? Will they die? What can I do to help? I want to transplant many more but have stopped b/c of the wilting almost immeadiately after transplanting. If this is transplant shock will they recover and how long will this take? Thanks so much!

Jason

It does sound like transplant shock, and how long it will take your plants to recover depends on a number of factors: how healthy the plants were to begin with, how much of the root system survived, how much water they are getting, soil conditions, etc, etc. Keep them adequately watered and hold off on transplanting the others until it cools off some. They may recover.

Thanks Cindy, can I ask you one more thing, I just today transplanted 2 Russian Sage bushes, not too big about 15" high or so...And the same thing has happened, I thought I was safe b/c it is drizzling off and on, cooler and cloudy, but to my dismay my gorgeous Russian Sages are wilted badly...Anything I can do??? Is this normal for Sages??? I do not believe I even cut 1 root which is why I am so suprised this happened, thanks again for any help!

Jason

Russian sage will sometimes resent being moved, but adequate water and water soluble fertilizer at transplant time can help it re establish fairly quickly. It should perk back up for you.

Russian sage is a very popular perennial plant, because it brings a lot to the garden. The foliage is an almost white gray. It is considered a subshrub because the stem tissues will become quite woody at the base.

The flowers of the Russian sage are a light blue –lavender color. They are quite small, tubular shaped blooms; they are produced in such profusion at the tops of the stems that the overall appearance of the plant is quite spectacular. Add to that the fact that Russian sage flowers for nearly three months or more and you have a pretty high profile garden plant. Russian sage needs plenty of space to grow; one plant can reach 3-5 feet high and 2-4 feet wide. They need good drainage and even if the soil isn’t particularly fertile, they will perform well in full sun; they are very effective planted in masses.

In particularly harsh winters here in Kentuckiana, Russian sage can be killed all the way back to ground level. They will usually rejuvenate nicely from the root system. Russian sage can also be pruned back to 6 inches or so in spring to encourage a more compact, bushy growth habit. Russian sage can also be damaged by our typical late spring frosts, but simply trimming back any damaged stems will perk it right back up.

Thanks! Question about pruning, you said that pruning them back to 6 inches to encourage growth, but how do I prune. Sorry if that is a stupid question but I am new, do I just cut the whole shrub down to 6 inches??? Do I selectively cut stems, if so where do I cut the stems, any help is really appreciated, thanks a lot!

Jason