New Grower

[Seeker]

Hello all.

I am new to the board, I live on the east coast, VA to be exact, and I had a few quick questions. I just ordered some new plants from this site (I love the buy 1 get 1 free, that is sweet), anyways I was wondering if you have to have lights or if the plants will do well next to a window, I plan on using the 2L bottle humidity tent until they become accustom to this environment. also I had seen on another thread that someone suggested using lights for 18hr a day, so then should the plants enjoy the same exposure to natural light???(not direct of coarse). I should have my plants in 2 or 3 days, so I want to be ready for them. I really look forward to growing and nurturing salvia, and hopefully she will do the same for me...

L8ter...

Seeker.....

[Nachtkrieger]

Hi and welcome to S.S. forum! I think that u should ask yourself some questions. What do you want? Do you want hydroponically? Or semi-hydro? or just let nature do his job? From the story above i'm making up that you just want to grow it in your house. I think that you should place cuttings in a shaded place and hang some fluorescent tubes (1 x red spectrum and 1 x blue) above your plants with timer set to the amount of light that will provide 18/6. So if the sun shines 12 hours a day extent the light cylcus with timer/artificial light 6 hrs. Also for optimal conditions buy a mistmaker/fogging system and place it nearby cuttings. For soil use light and loose medium. Use light fertilizer.

I think that if you do this your plants will grow like crazy.

Greets. Rob from Holland

[Seeker]

First I want to thank you for your reply. As far as method of growth I would like to stick as close to nature as possible. I originally wanted to plant them out side but in the winter it gets to cold here, so I think I will grow them inside until I get my green house built then transplant them. I would like to stick to natural light (not the beer, ha ha) but if there is considerable gain to be made using the tubes then I will consider that, I am just trying to ready my self for there arrival so they don’t die.

Thanks again for the help…..

L8ter….


Seeker…..

[Jupe]

Welcome....Va folks (from others I've helped) oftne have troubles with the high heat, high humidity issues that summer brings....so have some different grow options ready.  50-80F is their best temperature range.  66F is about perfect.

Plants can  be fine indoors, in cooler, air conditioned areas, with natural lights or flouros  but often like humidity raised, if its below 20% continually.  Many options to raise humidity.

best wishes for new plants

[Seeker]

Ok so I just got my plants, they look good, just one or two leaves that are a little curled up, but I was reading over the unpacking guide, and it says to leave them in the container they come in for 7-10 days before replanting them, I wanted to make sure this was right because mine came in a cup with only perlite in it, I just wanted to make sure that they could survive in that for a week before I left them in there. I have them in a humidity tent and I am misting them, I just want to make sure they will be ok….


Thanks again for all the help


L8ter…..


Seeker…..

[Seeker]

Ok, well I went ahead and transplanted them into an Orchid planting mix and perlite. I had a question about the orchid planting mix, it just pretty much looks like mulch, there is not really any “dirt” in it, is this ok? I have a fair amount of perlite in it, any thoughts would be great….



L8ter….



Seeker…..

[JDogHerman]

Seeker: Start a grow log. 

[Seeker]

haha thats funny, i was planning on doing that as soon as i have a few min....


L8ter....


Seeker.....

[MstryShovel]

orchid mix will be fine, yeah it will survive in the cup(its what the plants been growing in for the past 2-3 weeks) though you already transplanted it no worries, good luck on it in the future. whereabouts in va are you, im from Richmond what what.