New Sally grower. Need advice.

[hazyshaman]

Hi everyone! I'm new to salvia growing but I have had many years of experience with various other herbs, 6+ years. I ordered a salvia cutting from the internet which should arrive this week, however I have no way to raise humidity to keep it happy. I was thinking about constructing a box out of 1/2" particle board and plexiglass on the entire inside of the box. The humidity in the room it will be in is ussually 40-60%. I have read and understand that salvia loves high humidity. I already have the area, light and timer setup and am just waiting for the cutting to arrive. The humidity thing is scaring me though, I am not well enough prepared to offer optimal conditions for this beautiful plant. Please, any advice is very much appreciated, I don't want to kill this little wonder with low humidity!
Thank you.

[Arcygenical]

Just get a 2 or 3L pop bottle, cut off the very bottom of it, (about 1" up from the bottom), screw the cap on, and poke some holes in the cap.

Then, put it around the plant, and spray some water into it.

Then, after she's settled and is starting to grow again, acclimate her to low humidity .

[hazyshaman]

I have heard of this method before and so I will give it a try. After aclimating the salvia to low humidity, she will flourish right? I am not in any way stunting the growth? Will the salvinorin content be adversly affected by low humidity?
Sorry for so many questions, it's just I am interested in this entheogen and want to make my plant the healthiest it can be. I will be growing it organically with bat guano, liquid karma and rhizotonic for good root development.

[Arcygenical]

After the period of acclimation, she won't be adversely affected at all.

The leaves might have a thicker cuticle, but other than that, everything else will be equal.

[hazyshaman]

Thanks for all the help. It has been a quest trying to find all the necessary information.
How long approximately does it take to get aclimated? I have heard 2-3 weeks. Do I just take the coke bottle off for 10 mins each day and increase the amount of times I take it off?

[Arcygenical]

Generally, I acclimate for 2hrs a day, increasing by 2 hrs a day...

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.

I always mist them while the bottle's off though, just once.

Make sure the plant has good roots before acclimating.

[hazyshaman]

Thanks man for all the help. I'm sure I will be prepared now when it arrives. Now I have to play the waiting game. Hopefully it arrives in good condition.

[SexyMattTheCat]

Good Luck in your new sally plant.

[hazyshaman]

I had a problem with my latest order. I ordered a cutting from an outside source, when the cutting arrived it's protective container was cracked and smashed and the cutting itself was severed from the foliage. Now all that remains is the salvia's stem sticking above the soil. Do you think it can grow new sets of leaves if there is no attached foliage? I'm afraid it won't make it and have sent an email to the seller. As a precaution, I ordered another plant from this site. It says on this site buy one get one free, so I'm excited to recieve two sally's! I'll update when my sally's arrive. Thank you guys for all your support and I hope this plant stays legal here in the states. There is no reason why every mind altering substance ever discovered should be banned from responsible people. If someone wants to find themselves in the astral plane, they should be able to do it in the comfort and safety of their own home.
Peace.

[JDogHerman]

Don't give up, There are stories on these forums that tell about plants being thrown away in the trash and coming back.

If she has enough root structure she will come back even without a stem.

[hazyshaman]

Good news! The cutting that was mangled and severed might make it. After it arrived, I took the top part of the cutting off with a few nodes, stripped the bottom leaves off and stuck it beneath a layer of soil. I have a cloning heat mat underneath the pot for warming the root zone and a 1 gal freezer bag over the cuttings pot. I take the bag off about 3-4 times a day and mist it. So far it has not died on me and even apears to be growing a new set of leaves. To me, it looks to have a more narrow leaf structure than the blosser strain. It may be a Luna or Luna-variant.

[JDogHerman]

do you have any pics?

[hazyshaman]

I have some camera phone pics but I don't know how to post pics on this site, usually there's an attachment box down by the post button on other sites. I don't want to have to use an image hosting website. I'm about to buy a dual bulb 2 foot T5 fixture for the sally's. Do you think 4000 lumens will be overkill for a couple of salvia plants?

[JDogHerman]

4000 lumens should be fine amount

But it might be cheaper and easier to get CFL insted with a quick clamp fixture

[hazyshaman]

Where do you get these "quick clamp" fixtures? I have heard of wiring your own fixture, but I would rather have someone professional wire my setup. The last thing I want is to come home to my house burning down!LOL.