This is a question i get asked quite a bit.
When your salvia arrives it will be in a plant-pak to protect it from the post and to keep it humid.
Unpack it gentely and pot it into a mix of compost, perlite and vermiculite (1:1:1) I have used a small pot here just for demonstration purposes, but as long as the pot you use fits inside the bottle, all will be well.
Snip the bottom off a clear plastic bottle, place the pot on a tray or saucer and gentely lower the bottle over the salvia. mind those rough bottle edges on the leaves now!
Mist the plant and leave at room temperature in the light. Not direct sun as this will cause the bottle over-heat and kill your new plant.
Every now and then (I usually do it when I walk past the bottle) lift the bottle for a minute or two to let some fresh air in, otherwise the air will stagnate and mildew will start.
After a couple of days remove the lid. This will lower the humidity and help to acclimatize your plant to your home. Still remembering to lift the bottle as you think about it. A couple of times a day should be fine for now.
After about a week of no lid and lifting the bottle, remove the bottle completely and mist.
If your salvia starts to wilt within an hour or so, put the bottle back on and carry on with the acclimatizing process for a few more days. Soon she will be happy to live out of the bottle in the lower humidity of your home.
The only suitable room for my Salvia is fairly cold. The tips start browning and then the browning slowly encompasses the whole leaf. Other leaves start curling in on their edges, making the leaf look long and thin. Is this normal?
ReplyDeleteHi Jago, Salvia does not really like the cold. When she is exposed to temperatures she isnt too keen on, she will start to sacrifice leaves in order to save her life. The brown tips that eventually encompass the whole leaf is symptomatic of this. I guess the leaves are starting to look a bit twistd and deformed also? If you can raise the temp of the room or put her somewhere warmer this will be better, however as long as the room does not get to less than 5 degrees C she will not die. Come spring, when the weather warms up she will start to sprout new leaves again.
DeleteThat sounds spot on. Yeah, she's slowed growing since the weather has become colder. The larger leaves brown, curl and fall off and the smaller leaves continue to grow healthily until a certain point and then follow the fate of their siblings. This growth is incredibly slow and the distance between nodes is tiny. I did expect that but I do have a radiator going in the next week.. Should give her a boost :)
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