Salvia, the right setup?

[taozen]

Well, I have been reading quite a bit about the conditions salvia likes. Unfortunately, I'm unable to get the best gear but a rooted cutting is going to be here very soon so I'll have to do the best possible. The thing is I'll be able to take care of it just for one month, I'm leaving the country for 4 months so I want to it to be as independent as possible, requiring minimal attention. My most important worry is the soil. I found a nice (looks chunky and airy to me) organic soil at my local shop but couldn't find perlite anywhere, just sand. I would like to know how much sand should I use (...thinking of putting most on the bottom) because I know she needs drainage. On the other hand I think it could make it heavy so I would like to have a second opinion, anyone? also i know its wise to stay away from peat moss (that does come with a bit of some perlite and vermiculite in it) but I think it would be great to let some air in to the roots and counter act the sand, maybe just mix the top half with it?

In this pictures you can see what I got. I greatly apreciate any piece of advice.

PS: My morning glory seedling was mutilated! it was only a week or 2 old and got all its leaves cut by a stupid guy with a mower. Should I say goodbye or is there a way for me to recover it, grafting maybe? or will it grow its own leaves?

The Pot, size ok?

The Soil with and without using camera flash

The sand?

Peat moss with added perlite/vermiculite

Thanks all

[Magicdirt]

Personally

I wouldn't use that pot for a newly rooted cutting especially a salvia

That's what's referred to as squat pot and it has very poor drainage as well.

Squat pots have a high water holding capacity and if you get your potting mix wrong the plant will have wet feet and become succeptable to fungal diseases.

The reason squat pots hold so much water can be demonstrated with a sponge, if you get a sponge like you'd use to wash a car and dip it in a bucket and then take it and lay it on its side until the excess water drains off and then wring it out into a jug and note how much water it held. Then with the same sponge dip it in the bucket, take it out and stand it up to drain, when you wring it out it will hold a lot less water than the same sponge laying down.

Plants in squat pots don't get the same aeration as plants in tubestock or conventional pots.

I'd plant it in a smaller conventional pot until it is hardened off & then transplant it to a shady spot in the garden if I was going away for that long, either that or have it hooked up to a reservoir with a smart valve in a hydroponic setup.

As for the morning glory I'd say it's fucked.

[s4L]

Its better to make your mix uniform

I wouldn't put sand at the bottom of the pot because all this will do is create a perched water table. Water won't move from a fine textured soil into a coarser material until the finer soil is saturated.  So it does the opposite of whats intended.

 

[ubza_1234]

if there's one thing i'm able to grow well it's sally good quality soil is all thats needed. I would avoid sand because it tends to make it too dense and especially for young cuttings. plain, rich, quality soil is better for root development which is important for small plants. For young, poorly established cuttings and in winter just keep the soil moist. when the plant is more established and when the weather is hot you can keep the soil very damp, even sitting in a little water for a day or 2 and she'll love it. I root them by just putting them in very damp soil and they always catch. Only use a humidity dome to protect it from extreme weather like wind and frost. They have a horrible habit of adapting well to high humidity but very poorly to dry so try not to expose it to high humidity if possible. Hope i helped

[gerbil]

That soil doesn't look the best, lots of bark and sticks and crap in it. It looks like a lot of soil mixes i used to make with packet soil, they compact, even if sorta airy in side, and can be fairly water repellent, making it hard to water the rootball evenly. You'd do well to get lots of good fine compost into it if you intend on keeping the mix, good quality composted animal manures are also good and can help to build structure, cut with a bit of coarse sharp sand and perlite if needed, i'd imagine coir would do well in the mix too.

[ubza_1234]

as for the morning glory, perhaps carefully dig them up and grow them somewere sheltered and give it some love and it may come back with any luck. Do it soon tho

[taozen]

Thanks for the advice! The pot thing makes a lot of sense, I just liked it beacuse it's the biggest one, but I do have some smaller regular pots. And I'm not using sand then, it also makes sense that it will make it heavy. Now should I mix peat moss? I've heard it creates a bog that's not good on the bottom,

so what if I mix some on top, just to make the mix more airy?

should i just leave the soil as it is?

It's a blosser strain btw thats coming from California. and yeah, what I mean with minimal care is someone will be taking care of it, he just doesn't care at all about plants in general. So he'll at least be able to water it and do some basic stuff. It's supposed to not need a humidity dome according to my vendor. My climate is Guatemalan, and rainy season is just starting so she should feel fairly at home.

[planthelper]

topicstarter, because you live in central america, all you have to do is, to plant this plant out into a gardenbed, after all, central america is the home of this salvia.

[psili sausage]

Not all of Central America is the same. If Taozen lives in a dry region, Salvia may require mora attention, or at least a well prepared setup...

 

 

A perennial herb,

Salvia divinorum

is endemic to the Sierra Mazateca of Oaxaca, Mexico, where it grows between 1000 to 6000 ft (400 to 1800 m) in cloud forests. In the wild, it occurs in fertile soil in hot and humid areas that experience fog. Its habitat is along streambanks where vegetative coverings of low trees and bushes make a congenial environment of low light and high humidity

(The New Book of Salvias: Sages for Every Garden, Clebsch & Barner, 2003, p 106)

.

Edit: Sorry, didn't realize Taozen had just stated his climate. If it's gonna be humid and it's getting watered there should be no problem...

Edited June 17, 2010 by psili sausage

[ubza_1234]

if you want something low maintainance, perhaps fill the bottom 3inchs of the pot with course perlite and the rest with your soil mix. Them put your pot in a tray. The tray should be no taller then 1.5 inchs. Water it by fillng the tray with water. If the tray is 1.5inchs high, the water level will also be 1.5 inchs high in the pot. The perlite will suck up the water and dampen the soil above it. It will also promote the roots to grow downwards, away from the dryer soil, and towards the wet stuff it may not be perfect, but hard to drown. If the tray has a large diameter, it will hold more water and require less frequent watering. If it's too tall, the water will touch the soil, rocking it and also not allow excess water to drain away from the soil. It's a bit of mucking around, and it's not perfect, but i'm sure it will make it easier to care for her watering needs

[hutch]

I have been looking at this OBBT grow system for some time now and whilst it mightn't be ideal for everyone it could be for others. There would be an endless number of plants that would thrive in a system like this. Down side is a reliance on power but cost would be made up for in speed of growth. When I can get all the gear needed together I will give this a try...looks very interesting....

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=130800