First time Salvia cuttings - they are gone :(

[smokerx]

Hi, just recently planted these 3 plants. I used normal soil mixed with perlite and I put some pebbles on the bottom of the pot as advised by friend from this forum. After few days it looks like the plants are doing well and hopefully they going to grow big and healthy.

I have attached the pictures of them. Any advise from experienced salvia plant growers appreciated. I saw in Gibran2 thread that he snaps the big leaves from the cuttings.

Should I do the same or is it better to leave them as they are?
Should I cut a bit of the branch on the second picture, it looks quite long to me ?
How often do you guys water the plants and how much?
How often do I need to feed them?
When do I know that the plant is ready for harvest and how long does it take to grow till they are ready ?
When harvesting do you take all the leaves from the plant ?

If you have any other tips please let me know.

thank you

 

[gibran2]

I saw in Gibran2 thread that he snaps the big leaves from the cuttings.
Should I do the same or is it better to leave them as they are?
I’d just leave them as they are.

Should I cut a bit of the branch on the second picture, it looks quite long to me ? No.

How often do you guys water the plants and how much?
Keep the soil moist, but not saturated. Too wet = rot. How often depends on type of soil, root mass, temperature, etc. (On hot summer days when my plants were very large, I watered them as often as 3X a day!)

How often do I need to feed them?
Not at all until they’re much bigger. Then, maybe once every other week.

When do I know that the plant is ready for harvest and how long does it take to grow till they are ready ?
This all depends on growing conditions. Under very good conditions, healthy plants grow about 1/2” per day. A cutting will reach a height of between 4 and 5 feet in about 4 months, and then (probably due to becoming pot-bound) its growth will slow quite a bit. That’s when you harvest. Without support, branches will snap off on their own when they get between 3 and 4 feet long. Salvia likes to be left alone, so once a cutting is in soil, leave it alone - don't move the pot around, don't remove leaves - in general, don't change its growing conditions.

When harvesting do you take all the leaves from the plant ?
I take cuttings, and then harvest the entire plant. As I said, once a plant reaches a certain age/height, its growth slows quite a bit. Cuttings always grow very fast by comparison.

Your cuttings look nice. Small, but nice. Good luck!


edit: Here's a cutting I planted 3 days ago.

 

[smokerx]

Thank you my friend as always great help. I will post more pics when they are bigger.

By the way your cutting looks beautiful.

 

[smokerx]

Little update about my plants. They did grow quite a bit yupiii

I am a little bit worried about the plant though, if you look at the picture I marked it what is worrying me. It looks like the leaves are bending a bit. Does that indicate something or is it all ok ?

 

[gibran2]

Little update about my plants. They did grow quite a bit yupiii

I am a little bit worried about the plant though, if you look at the picture I marked it what is worrying me. It looks like the leaves are bending a bit. Does that indicate something or is it all ok ?

That's not a problem. Sometimes leaves curl for no apparent reason. It doesn't seem to harm the plant.

Looking good!

 

[MelCat]

Something that drastically helps cuttings survive is VitaGrow Anti-Wilt.

It is marketed as a spray but I use it as a dip instead.

The directions call for a 7:1 ratio of water:anti wilt. I use a ratio of 7:2 water:anti wilt.

Just mix it up in a glass that can accommodate your cutting and after you take the cutting from the mother plant, just dip it in the vita grow a couple of times. This creates a barrier around the cutting so it won't lose any water while it grows roots.

If you use it with a bit of Clonex Gel you'll have close to a 100% survival rate if you water it with PH 6.5 water.

I've been using this stuff for years and I highly recommend it.

Since you've already taken the cuttings, using it as a spray would work nicely as well.

Just make sure to completely cover all parts of the plant with the anti wilt.

 

[gibran2]

Something that drastically helps cuttings survive is VitaGrow Anti-Wilt.

It is marketed as a spray but I use it as a dip instead.

The directions call for a 7:1 ratio of water:anti wilt. I use a ratio of 7:2 water:anti wilt.

Just mix it up in a glass that can accommodate your cutting and after you take the cutting from the mother plant, just dip it in the vita grow a couple of times. This creates a barrier around the cutting so it won't lose any water while it grows roots.

If you use it with a bit of Clonex Gel you'll have close to a 100% survival rate if you water it with PH 6.5 water.

I've been using this stuff for years and I highly recommend it.

Since you've already taken the cuttings, using it as a spray would work nicely as well.

Just make sure to completely cover all parts of the plant with the anti wilt.

Salvia is actually a very resilient plant. I’ve never had a rooted cutting not survive transplanting. Like most plants, they suffer a bit of transplant shock and wilt a bit as a result, but they spring right back as soon as they get acclimated to their new environment.

With salvia (both growing and dosing), it seems that less is more.

I’ve attached a photo showing a cutting about 3 days after transplant (left) and 2 weeks after. Notice how it has perked right up?

 

[rOm]

Gibran2 is a kind of man who do grow one thing, and do it very well !
Thanks a lot for all the informative contributions.
Salvia never ceases to amaze me

 

[smokerx]

I am glad that it is not a problem, thank you

I thought it was maybe not enough or too much water. I never know when is it the time to water them. I do not want to over do it as I know to much water would hurt them.

Is there any way, maybe some test (some device) to know exactly when they need watering ?

 

[gibran2]

I am glad that it is not a problem, thank you

I thought it was maybe not enough or too much water. I never know when is it the time to water them. I do not want to over do it as I know to much water would hurt them.

Is there any way, maybe some test (some device) to know exactly when they need watering ?

They begin to wilt if under-watered.

 

[smokerx]

They begin to wilt if under-watered.

Does that mean I should wait till they start to wilt ? Would not that be too late ? What do you do ?

At the moment what I do is just to give them some water from time to time , generally I do it by diagnosing the soil but I am not very experienced in this that's why I ask this (maybe for you silly) questions.

 

[gibran2]

They begin to wilt if under-watered.

Does that mean I should wait till they start to wilt ? Would not that be too late ? What do you do ?

At the moment what I do is just to give them some water from time to time , generally I do it by diagnosing the soil but I am not very experienced in this that's why I ask this (maybe for you silly) questions.

Keep the soil moist but not wet. Over-watering is more of a problem than under-watering. Over-watering can lead to rot and can kill the plant.

If you want to experiment, stop watering one of your plants and wait until it just starts to wilt. Take note of the soil conditions and you’ll know that you want to maintain it a bit more moist.

 

[smokerx]

Keep the soil moist but not wet. Over-watering is more of a problem than under-watering. Over-watering can lead to rot and can kill the plant.

If you want to experiment, stop watering one of your plants and wait until it just starts to wilt. Take note of the soil conditions and you’ll know that you want to maintain it a bit more moist.

Thanks for the advice gibran2, I will try that test its very good idea.

 

[smokerx]

Just a little update , they are doing quite well

they grow quite nice in 4 weeks what do you guys think ?

should I start feeding them now ?

 

[Dreamwalker]

Nice work,
They look very happy!

If I'm not mistaken you can begin to feed them in four to six weeks after there rooted.
Probably a better idea to see what Gibran thinks first though.

There definitely looking good!
Keep it up!

 

[gibran2]

They're looking nice, but not growing as fast as you think they are.

They won't need fertilizer for a while yet.

Here's my cutting, 5 weeks after planting:

 

[Dreamwalker]

Yeah like I was saying..... listen to him.

That plant is gorgeous as usual Gibran!

 

[smokerx]

So what do I need to do ? What have I done wrong ? How come they don't grow as fast as yours ? Maybe I should start feeding them.

 

[Dreamwalker]

I know this question wasn't directed to me but in my opinion your not doing anything wrong.

Gibran's been growing this plant for years now and as I'm sure you can see he's got it down to a science.

For starters I'm sure he waits till the plants are very large to take clones.

I still think your plants are looking great.
They'll get there before you know it.

 

[gibran2]

So what do I need to do ? What have I done wrong ? How come they don't grow as fast as yours ? Maybe I should start feeding them.

Just be patient. You started with very small cuttings, so they’re going to take longer to establish themselves. You’ll notice as they grow that the rate of growth accelerates once the plants reach a certain size.

There’s no need to fertilize yet, since they haven’t used much food.

Give them plenty of bright indirect light, water as needed (moist soil, but not wet) and generally leave them alone. They’ll do just fine.

I noticed that some of your pots are rather small. A large indoor salvia plant can grow to 5 feet tall, so you might want to think about transplanting. (Not yet though – let them establish themselves a bit more.)