Sage Brush

[kevinkimers]

My land is COVERED in sage brush and as much as I love the smell and look of them, I have to get rid of them. I don't want to kill them. I want to up root them, pot them, and sell them so that others can enjoy them. Does anyone know how I can achieve this? First off, I'm not sure how to uproot them without killing them and secondly, I don't know where to go to sell them.

 

[Chuck]

You cannot dig up a mature desert sage and have it survive. It has an extensive root system. The way to propagate them if you want to sell them is by taking cuttings. Salvia dorii is sold in many nurserys for xeroscape projects. It will only live in poor non-fertile alkaline soil. I have one that I planted in the caliche soil where I live about 18 years ago. It was grown from a cutting I took. It has never been watered nor fertilized

 

[claudine]

I didn't know that sage looks so gorgeous! I love all the pictures in this thread. Kevinkimers, if I were you, I'd never get rid of these plants. They're very, very pretty
However, propagating them for sale sounds like a wonderful idea.

 

[kevinkimers]

@Chuck, thank you... I will take your advice on the cuttings and replanting. I did not want to kill them off, but it seems I may not have a choice.

@claudine, I do not have much of a choice. My entire 40 acres is covered in it. I am not going to get rid of all of them, just about 90% otherwise I can't do anything else with the property.

 

[claudine]

I completely understand. I wouldn't want to limit myself to growing just one plant either. It's such a pity though, your sage looks absolutely beautiful. I hope you'll find a way to sell them

 

[kevinkimers]

I wish I could too. I may just do what was suggested and try to propagate them because I'd hate to out right kill them. If anything, they make amazing photo's. Here is one I took 2 years ago.

http://1drv.ms/1vwM3FQ

For some reason it wont show here.

 

[claudine]

Wow, it's an amazing picture! Thank you for sharing it. It looks like a scene from a movie, I love it. You live in a truly gorgeous place

 

[MrsJones]

I wish I could too. I may just do what was suggested and try to propagate them because I'd hate to out right kill them. If anything, they make amazing photo's. Here is one I took 2 years ago.

http://1drv.ms/1vwM3FQ

For some reason it wont show here.

Maybe you can make flyers and sell cuttings at a low price that way before to kill them off. People will buy more for less and you don't have to say what you intentions are in the flyer.

 

[kevinkimers]

Maybe you can make flyers and sell cuttings at a low price that way before to kill them off. People will buy more for less and you don't have to say what you intentions are in the flyer.

Problem is that in this area, the whole place is covered by them so no one would buy them here. I'm still in shock that it was not named the Nevada state tree. LOL I was thinking more along the lines of selling it to people outside of Nevada so I don't think cuttings or flyers would work. Good suggestion though.

 

[MrsJones]

Well kevinkimers Chuck has been teaching me a knew language in this forum so I had to check it out. This site has some beautiful landscaping ideas. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping

 

[kevinkimers]

Unfortunately my property is very dense in sagebrush. I have to remove them just to build a house or put in a well and septic there, that is thousands of plants to deal with. I did not want to kill them, but I may have no choice in the matter.

Here is my property so you can understand what I mean. This is 40 acres.

 

[Chuck]

Unfortunately my property is very dense in sagebrush. I have to remove them just to build a house or put in a well and septic there, that is thousands of plants to deal with. I did not want to kill them, but I may have no choice in the matter.

Here is my property so you can understand what I mean. This is 40 acres.

A bulldozer with rippers on back would be nice

 

[kevinkimers]

Unfortunately, no money. Going to have to do it by hand. Even renting one is outside our means. Believe me, we wanted to rent one for this.

 

[Chuck]

Unfortunately, no money. Going to have to do it by hand. Even renting one is outside our means. Believe me, .we wanted to rent one for this.

We have similar problems here with mesquite brush. The most inexpensive way to remove mesquite is to cut it down to the ground with a chainsaw and apply GreenLight Stump and Vine Remover to the stump. This will kill the plant. If you want to remove the stump drill 1/2" holes in the stump and fill up the holes with salt peter. In a couple of months the stump and roots will turn into a fibrous cellulose like material that will completely rot away over time or burn easily.

 

[MrsJones]

Jees... that is going to be an enormous project!! Are you planning on having someone help you tackle this if even a small portion of it? I'm just thinking of all the tools you'll need if you're not renting a bulldozer. Maybe you can do like the Amish when they have a house raising? I think that's what it's call.