Watering a salvia plant

[psychotropia1]

SWIM got a salvia plant.

When it arrived it looked in this state:

https://imgur.com/a/D0vmpRy

As you can see, the leaves are starting to get damaged.

So how does SWIM takes care ot it?
Should swim water it immediately?
If yes, how much water should swim provide?
How often should swim water it?
Should swim use fertilizer?

 

[Nydex]

Hello psychotropia1,

Generally you should keep the soil moist, but not soggy. Once the top 3-4 centimeters of the soil is dry, water the plant. If you don't you'll notice the leaves start drooping and getting softer.

Salvia is an incredibly vulnerable plant. It needs very good ventilation, and people claim it grows best in dotted shade.

Aphids and gnats can quickly notice it and start an infestation. If you want to deal with that in the most natural way, get ladybugs to deal with the aphids. If you get fungus gnats the best way to deal with them is by using a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies israelensis.

For more info you can refer towards the post I made regarding my suffering salvia.

Be well and safe travels.

 

[psychotropia1]

Thanks a lot!

How often should swim water it? You follow a procedure, where you place your finger to the soil to figure out if it's moist, and if not you water it?
And what is the period you do this procedure? Daily

Is there a rule of thumb on how much water should one provide?

 

[Nydex]

Thanks a lot!

How often should swim water it? You follow a procedure, where you place your finger to the soil to figure out if it's moist, and if not you water it?
And what is the period you do this procedure? Daily

Is there a rule of thumb on how much water should one provide?

Well it largely depends on the temperature and humidity of the environment, but generally you could check the soil every 2 days, and when it feels dry (or you see the leaves droop) then you just water thoroughly.

It's very important that the soil has good drainage and aeration. Also generally salvia is very gentle when it comes to additional fertilizer. If in a month you see that the leaves turn yellowish and generally the plant doesn't look very healthy then you could get a standard fertilizer and dilute it to 33% strength and fertilize once, then leave the plant alone for at least several months.

Generally salvia prefers more acidic soil, so you could check the pH and ensure it's in the approriate range of 5.5 - 6 pH.

 

[psychotropia1]

Should SWIM protect it from the rain?
Because i read that if the soil is too moist, it will die.

 

[Nydex]

Should SWIM protect it from the rain?
Because i read that if the soil is too moist, it will die.

Where are the plants - indoors or outdoors? If they're outdoors are they in the ground, or in pots?

 

[psychotropia1]

Outdoors and in pots.
Should fertilizer be used as well?

 

[Nydex]

Outdoors and in pots.
Should fertilizer be used as well?

Read what I wrote above about fertilization. And if they're in pots, just make sure the soil is not soaked all the time - you don't want the roots to rot. Only water when the soil is dry, but don't wait too much as drought exhausts the plant. Be careful - salvia is gentle.

If you want to really get deep on the salvia subject search the forum for posts related to it. Some of the gurus on this plant include jamie and gibran2. Drop them a PM if you feel it necessary.

Best of luck growing this beautiful plant.

 

[psychotropia1]

Thanks, but it seems the plant is dead or dying fast.

https://imgur.com/SFmDQg0

I don't know if there is a way back at this point.
Way to spend so much money

 

[Incarnation]

I expect your plant will be just fine.
Be patient; give it time to recover from being mailed.
As was said, water it deeply when it begins to wilt.
First leaves will droop, then the stem will do so.
A low strength fertilizer is probably needed, depending on the potting mix.
While it recovers, give it some shade from intense sun.
If the temperature gets within several degrees of freezing, bring it inside.

 

[psychotropia1]

Thanks for the support!

I guess repotting to a larger pot is necessary.

Should i use soil or maybe perlite?

 

[Psilosopher?]

You can use coco coir as well. I use 2/3 potting mix and 1/3 coco coir.

As for watering, i've threaded polyester rope through the soil in a 30cm diameter clay pot. You can get them as venetian blind cords. Layer of soil/coir then layer of rope in circles. Repeat till pot is full. This rope then dangles from the drainage hole into a reservoir of water, which is also supporting the clay pot. The plant waters itself. I just mist the leaves with a spray bottle every hot or warm day. I also add seaweed fertiliser directly into the water. It went from having only one big leaf to have 40+ and vigourous growth. All in a span of 2 weeks.

By the way, we don't SWIM here.

 

[psychotropia1]

Thanks a lot Psilosopher?!
You seem to know a lot!

But i have trouble understanding what you did with the self watering thing.
Do you happen to have photos, or a link where it shows how this is done?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Psilosopher?]

First pic is immediately after transferring. The grey bucket is sturdy enough to hold the weight of the pot, and it is filled with water. The lid has two holes that i burned through with a jet lighter, and is aligned with the drainage holes in the pot. Within the first few weeks after this, it lost all of it's leaves except for the big middle one. Which was normal in my case, since the leaves were accustomed to a different environment. It grew a lot in length before shooting out new leaves.

Second pic is more or less what it looks like now. I moved house, so placed the salvia outside on a balcony. It gets no direct sunlight.

 

[psychotropia1]

So you put the soil in the pot.
Then you put the rope in circles in the pot, in order to fill it.
Then you put soil again.
The rope from the circle, ends in lines, that exit from the drainage holes, straight into the water.

Is this correct?

Also, i dont know how, but i had a node break.
So a cutting must be used.
I just place it in water until it roots (half an inch)?
Should i use a humidity tent in the cutting?

 

[Incarnation]

For rooting a cutting:
I would re-cut a broken branch right below the lowest node with a clean sharp knife, right before placing it in water (node submerged). Then I keep it on the countertop and change the water daily. ~ 50% success rate with this. Hopefully roots will grow from the node in a couple weeks.

 

[psychotropia1]

I guess when leaves start to fall down, that is a bad sign, right?

 

[Nydex]

As for watering, i've threaded polyester rope through the soil in a 30cm diameter clay pot. You can get them as venetian blind cords. Layer of soil/coir then layer of rope in circles. Repeat till pot is full. This rope then dangles from the drainage hole into a reservoir of water, which is also supporting the clay pot. The plant waters itself. I just mist the leaves with a spray bottle every hot or warm day. I also add seaweed fertiliser directly into the water. It went from having only one big leaf to have 40+ and vigourous growth. All in a span of 2 weeks.

That is actually genius. I've never thought of watering my plants like that, but I think I'm gonna harvest and get rid of them anyways...too risky to have them around where I live.