Caring for a salvia plant in winter?

[Twilight Person]

I was donated a salvia plant, which I actually dont even plan to use ... but it will still be an interesting oddity to keep on raising. But my winters are very cold, so outside no plant (like this) would survive. How will I treat her in winter? Now I put all my cacti into the basement, but I guess this sleepy-time trick will not work with salvia. I dont even have any window with direct sun, so it would only thrive in summer outside. But will it kind of stay alive even with very low light facing west?

May sound like a minor question, but I want to not risk it dying as this plant found me while I never searched it ...

 

[bIRD_]

mine is sitting on a window sill. i also dont get much direct sun but shes doing fine.

 

[_Trip_]

Put it in a little glass terrarium near a window or even hanging next to a window with some indirect light and it'll be fine. Best thing is you can leave it for months and months and never have to water it or fertilize it or anything, so if you go on holidays etc it'll be fine. Mine has been in a terrarium for maybe close to a year now, never watered it or anything. Just be sure to carefully drill a drainage hole (with the right drill bit for glass). I used cheap soil (50%) and small grit rock (50%). It's not a massive plant a bit spindly but happy and growing well.

I've seen them survive winters of -3c outdoors in shaded areas protected from frost in non humid climates.

 

[Twilight Person]

Thanks for the answers. Wow crazy it would even survive medium winters...

Sadly my winters are pretty harsh so i already saved all my cacti.

You speak about not watering in the terrarium but if i dont use a closed glas the not watering that long will probably not work...?

Cheers

 

[_Trip_]

You want a closed glass terrarium, it'll negate the need to water for a long time, keep the humidity up and keep it a bit warmer.

Just go to a cheap store and find a big glass (preferably round) jar with a glass lid. You won't be harvesting much but as you said you just want to keep it alive. So that would be a good way to go.