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Salvia divinorum Cultivation The Easy Way |
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Written by Dan McDonley
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Monday, 21 December 1998 |
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Page 4 of 5
Another problem I have encountered and still don't quite know why, is that in the evening my plants inside of the humidity tent will wilt. I just cut it back and made a cutting of it and it stopped. I think harvesting a few large leaves would also help. I think the reason this happens is that a high rate of water uptake by the roots is happening when the sun is beating on the leaves. When the light levels go down there isn't as much transpiration going on pulling up water so the cells lose some of their turgidity and it wilts a bit. It always seems to perk back up in the morning though.
Watering
This is assuming you did not opt to go with the system I outlined above. If you are watering too much you may be starving the roots for air. A clay pot and perlite in the soil will help avoid this VERY common mistake with Salvia. A sure indication that you are over watering is the appearance of thin fuzzy roots criss-crossing the top of the soil. Salvia likes moist soil but needs a lot of air in the soil also. If you are watering too much, or have your pot sitting in a saucer that collects the draining water you will suffocate the roots and will soon have a problem with rot also. Never keep your plant in a saucer to catch draining water. It will wick up through the soil and not let air get to the roots. If you've caught the situation before rot sets in just let the soil start drying out.. Don't water until the soil starts drying at the very top. Then water until its moist. This is always a bit tricky to know how much and when to water. That's why the wicking system works so well. The plant and soil decides when it needs to bring up more water. The dryer the soil gets the more water will be wicked up, to a point. If the soil is saturated no more water will be brought up.
If you've watered too much for too long or let it sit in a pan of water, rot will eventually occur. There is no saving your original plant now.. It starts at the very bottom of the stem turning it brown and eventually mushy. The only way to save it now is to make as many cuttings as possible. Put them in little containers with moist soil in a plastic bag out of direct sunlight. Let them root and try again. You can root cuttings in various ways so I won't go over that, especially since I haven't found a perfect method myself.
Sunlight
Your Salvia divinorum needs light, but not a huge amount. If you adapt her slowly you can get her used to 4-5 hours of direct sunlight a day. But beware of sunburn. Sunburn at least on my plants appears as though a brown dye is injected from the stem into the leaves and moves toward the tip. It is a deep brown and is a bit mushy similar to what rotted leaves or stems look like. You will have to cut the sunburned portion off if it is too bad or it won't regain its usual growth rate. Currently I have my plants next to a window that gets a ton of indirect sunlight but no direct sun. I think she is doing better now then when she got 2 hours of direct sun a day and shade the rest. I'll have to wait and see if she actually is growing faster and better. But what I still recommend is at least 1-2 hours of direct morning or afternoon sun, and as much indirect sun as she can soak up. You can adjust her to more if you do it slowly though.
Growth and Development
Keep in mind that salvia will start off growing very slowly. Also every time you transplant it will take her a while to adjust and it will take time before she starts growing quickly again. I have found the larger she grows the faster she grows until she reaches her optimum growth rate. So just be patient and if you've already waited a month or two and she hasn't sped up try a little fertilizer. Miracid or Miracle Grow work pretty good. The last thing that will inhibit Salvia growth is too small a pot. When I want to grow another plant for myself I usually root the cutting and then put that cutting directly into the pot it will have for a very long time. I may only have a 2 inch tall plant in a foot and a half diameter pot. This will ensure plenty of room for the roots to grow and also so I won't have to transplant it. If the pot is too small it will become root bound or just slow down growth. Then when you re-pot it will take it time to get back to its regular growth rate.
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