How to Divide Salvias and Revive Them for Stunning Flowers – Do It Now Before They Wake in Spring

Experts reveal how to divide perennial salvias and rejuvenate older plants

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The purple flowers of Salvia nemorosa growing in a garden alongside yellow background blooms
(Image credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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Perennial salvias bring vibrant pops of color to flower beds from midsummer into fall. With aromatic foliage, square stems, and dense spikes of blooms that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, there is much to adore about salvias.

Over several seasons, though, the display can wane, which is why it is advisable to divide salvias every 3-4 years. Lifting and dividing the perennial is a relatively simple job for early spring, and the reward is 4-6 new plants to add to your garden, at no cost.

When to Divide Salvias

Pink salvia flowers alongside pansies and violas in a pot, growing alongside a cloche

(Image credit: Future/Jacky Hobbs)

To keep perennial types of salvias performing at their best and filling flower beds with color, they should be divided every three to four years. Dividing plants helps to rejuvenate the original clump and also get new plants to add to your backyard ideas.

A tell-tale sign that a salvia needs dividing is when the center of the plant starts underperforming or shows signs of becoming woody and drying out. You can end up with a plant that is bare in the middle and only flowers on the edges, which doesn’t look good, whether you have plants in a border or are growing salvia in pots.

Mike J. McGroarty, an experienced propagator and owner at Mike's Backyard Nursery, says that dividing salvias reinvigorates the plant, and the reward is a better display.

‘It will flower in abundance for several years after being divided,’ says Mike. ‘Any kind of root pruning stimulates new root growth, and small fibrous roots pick up nutrition from the soil with a greater efficiency than old, hardened, established roots.’

The best time to divide salvias is when the plant is dormant, in either fall or spring, when the temperatures are cool, and the soil is moist. If you do intend to divide salvias in the fall, do it well before the first frosts to give the plant time to bed down roots before the temperatures drop.

Mike claims that plants will start to flower in the first year after dividing, if the timing is right, and highlights early spring as a prime time to divide salvias.

‘If you complete the dividing process before the plant breaks dormancy in the spring, the new divisions will thrive, putting on lots of new growth followed by a beautiful display of flowers,’ he says.

It is not advisable to divide salvias in winter or summer. They will be under huge stress if divided when flowering during a hot summer, and may never recover.

On the other hand, if you divide salvias in winter, the plant doesn’t have time to bed down roots before frosts, and low temperatures can kill them.

Michael J. McGroarty
Mike J. McGroarty

Mike is an expert in plant propagation and gardening. Since 1996 growers from more than 80 different countries have taken his Backyard Grower training courses online.

How to Divide Salvias

Savlia amistad with a hummingbird feeding on its nectar

(Image credit: Getty Images/Daniel Ripplinger/DansPhotoArt)

Let's take a close look at how to divide perennial salvias and the best tools for the job. It may surprise you to know that the secrets to quality division start with watering plants.

If you water salvia a few days before you plan to divide, it ensures the roots are hydrated, and the plant can cope better with the stress of being lifted and transplanted.

On the day you divide salvias, take a garden spade and carefully dig around the clump. Dig in a wide circle to avoid damaging the roots, then gently lever the plant out of the soil.

‘What I do is lift the entire plant out of the ground and shake off as much soil as possible,’ says Mike.

‘It helps to turn a spade on its edge and gently bang the root ball against the edge of the spade as you turn the root ball,’ adds the propagation expert. ‘This helps to remove soil. The more soil you remove, the easier it is to separate the root clumps.’

Loose roots can be pulled apart by hand, but in reality, it is more likely you will need a sharp spade, knife, or hori-hori knife (you can get a sharp hori-hori knife at Amazon) to cut through a dense root ball and separate the salvia into new pieces.

Depending on the size of the plant, you may get up to six new small pieces to plant. When you divide salvias, each new section must have both good shoots and a portion of healthy roots attached.

Plant the new sections as quickly as possible, whether into new spots in your beds and borders, or into containers to grow on. Dig a hole large enough to accommodate the roots and backfill it with soil.

Mike recommends: ‘Because you have shaken most of the soil away, it's important to use loose soil when re-planting because you don't want any air pockets around the bare roots.’

Gently press down the soil around the roots, then water the plant deeply to remove any air pockets and ensure the plant settles well into its new home.

FAQs

Do Salvias Come Back Every Year?

Salvia is a large genus with over 900 species, including shrubs, perennials, and annuals. Perennial salvias can grow in US hardiness zones 3-9 and will die back in late fall before bursting back into growth come spring. Annual salvias are not frost-hardy, but may grow as perennials in US hardiness zones 9-11.

For the longest display from any salvias, deadheading is a must to promote strong blooming. Regular deadheading of salvia prevents the plant from developing seeds; instead, it directs all its energy toward producing new flowers.

During the flowering season, snip faded flowers above a set of leaves or a side shoot with sharp pruning shears or garden snips, such as these straight-bladed Felco pruning snips at Amazon.

Drew Swainston
Drew Swainston
Content Editor

Drew has worked as a writer since 2008 and was also a professional gardener for many years. As a trained horticulturist, he worked in prestigious historic gardens, including Hanbury Hall and the world-famous Hidcote Manor Garden. He also spent time as a specialist kitchen gardener at Soho Farmhouse and Netherby Hall, where he grew vegetables, fruit, herbs, and cut flowers for restaurants. Drew has written for numerous print and online publications and is an allotment holder and garden blogger. He is shortlisted for the Digital Gardening Writer of the Year at the 2025 Garden Media Guild Awards.