Getting Rid Of Black & Blue Salvia

Q: Several years ago, I planted ‘Black & Blue’ salvia. It has now spread across the entire back of my house and I want to get rid of it. Other than pull it up, a tough job due to the thick roots, do you have any suggestions? 

A: My neighbor has a bed that is now twenty feet long and four feet wide filled with this salvia, which spread from what was once a small corner of the area. Hummingbirds and butterflies love the beautiful blue flowers in summer. It’s limited on all four sides by pavement. The neighbor mows the bed to the ground every winter to remove the dead stems and the salvia sprouts up a few weeks later. My suggestion to you is to use a sharpened shovel to dig clumps from your bed in spring when new growth emerges and share with your neighbors, with a warning about the spreading nature of the plant.