Q: I planted two Hot Lips sage plants into large cement pots beside my sunny front steps. I watered them every day because of the high sun exposure, but the leaves are beginning to get sparse around the base.

A: Sage plants like the soil to be on the dry side, so you don’t need to water every day. Drag a finger firmly across the soil surface to get an idea of when the soil is dry. To keep them bushy, remove the tip of new growth every time it grows to six inches long. I think it’s too late in the season to worry about pruning now.