Cali Sally-D, just for me.

[pastlife209]

Strain: Blosser
Light: Sun/Window/Florescent bulb
Soil: Fox Farms: Ocean Forest
Ferts: No Fertilizer yet?
Temp: 72-84
Humidity: 80%-94%
Source: Clone
Start Date: 07/15/2010

This is my first attempt to grow anything that takes more care than a morning watering. I got a really good sized cutting that was well rooted and I hope I keep it in good shape. It's love at first site. I just wish I had more funds to give her a better home. I got it from arenaethnobotanicals.com for $42. I bit pricey but considering the simple propagation, it should be worth it if I play my card right. Well I'm a complete newbie so I'll need all the help I can get. I keep her on the deck under the shade of some shrubbery until high noon. Our summer here in Stockton, CA can reach triple digits easy so I bring her inside around 13:00 and turn on the A/C.

DAY ONE


The only thing that concerns me is that the leaves feel a little crisp or stiff. And I should have set it higher in the pot but it's too late now, I don't want to disturb it. But the 2 largest leaves are all curled over and kinda touching the sides. I'm working on finding a bigger humidity tent like object but I'm dead broke and without plastic.(not even a foot of saran wrap.)

I am a little concerned with light. I have it outside in the morning but inside during most of the day. 23watt Florescent bulb sitting about 12 inches away from the plant surrounded by a windshield shade seems like a lot of light since it is already near a window.

 links to a few varieties of lighting my plant's little corner:

This is how much light it will get if I don't turn on the bulb: http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz351/pastlife209/DSC04063.jpg

My setup with the light on and reflector half open: http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz351/pastlife209/DSC04062.jpg

Totally enclosed from above: http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz351/pastlife209/DSC04061.jpg

It seems to be too much light: http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz351/pastlife209/DSC04064.jpg


Well it looks like the package handler tossed it around a bit, but I think she'll be OK. Anyone's insight is much appreciated.

DAY THREE ...after her haircut. It perked up and straightened out a little since I received it.

Thinking of a name to give her.


ONE WEEK


I'm guessing touching the tent is bad since it's causing the leaves to shred and fall off on those tips.

[Lary Craig]

Hey welcome to the forums. I am a little new at this but think i can help. Plant looks stressed from shipping and leaves will fall off. I would keep a humidity tent on it all the time until she starts to recover from the stress. Frequent misting will help her recover faster. There is no such thing as too much light at least from a artificial light. Just make sure she isn't getting burned from the heat of the bulb. Now direct sun light will fry her so don't expose her for more than a couple of hours to direct sun. Your light seems to be a good distance away so shouldn't be a problem. Once her roots start to develop the growth should take off but have patience.   

[|if3]

[Genuis +], lary craig. But, one thing I'll add, is that You can hurt your plant with too much direct light, but in MOST cases you can't. Just as long as you don't grow them in more than a couple hours of direct sunlight and as long as you aren't using high intensity light, then you'll be fine. you'll run out of space before giving it too much light from a fluorescent source. Just watch the heat.

Humidity tent is a definite must, you might want to use another cake top with only two or three holes punched in it. You're letting too much air flow in there, and it'll drastically increase recovery time. Spraying the plant once a day is more than enough assuming that the plant is in a consistent environment, just remember to mist and give it fresh air once a day. I usually recommend twice a day, but I brought up my mothers with only letting them breathe once a day.

Good luck, and welcome to the forums pastlife209!

[Sea Mac]

Welcome to the Forum!

If it were my plant I'd snip those 2 large leaves off. Restore hydrostatic balance from the other end.

[|if3]

It'll put less energy into sustaining those leaves as opposed to establishing it's self to the point of creating new foliage.

Follow what sea mac says, he's the jorge of salvia.

[pastlife209]

Awesome! Thank you for the warm welcome. I was thinking of sniping those large leaves but I was afraid of shocking it. So can leaf stems take root or just branches with nodes? What should I use to cut, a razorblade? Normal scissors? Does it matter? Hope you guys like answering questions. 

[farmboy]

it doesn't matter. and it wont shock it

[Hero4Evz]

Were always here to answer questions. A leaf with a petiole (root stem) will root, but will not grow a new plant. You need a node in order to have a new growth point for the stem to develop. As for how to remove the leaf, sterility is only semi important, people around here use everything from just a finger nail to pinch it off, a razor, or even going so far as to pull out gloves and sterilize the razor. I personally would just use a razor dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Do either burn off the isopropyl or let it evaporate though as it can burn a plant if its to concentrated.

[|if3]

I do believe you could create a new plant with a rooted leaf, i've seen it done on many other plants, never thought about doing it to my sally though.

[pastlife209]

So if I have my plant outside in the morning from 7am-12pm under a climbing rose and a lace shade I put up for the near noon hours. That's 5 hours of outdoor shaded sunlight, then I bring it indoors for heat escape while running the CFL bulb for the remainder 7 hours, making 12hrs of light total. This is OK? Or should I not even run the bulb since it does get the natural light in the morning? I'm seeing small brown spots and tips occur so I'm wondering if the bulb on for the rest of the day is necessary. My windows all have metal awnings so I don't really get any DIRECT light. I only get what reflects inside and not sure if that is sufficient.

[Lary Craig]

Hard to tell without pics but I would say the brown tips and spots are from humidity issues. You will need more hours of light unless you want your sally to flower. Around 15hrs of light will keep your sally in its veg state. Direct sunlight should only be about 2hrs (if any) all other light should be indirect or artificial. As far as switching from inside to outside i am not sure if that is good for the sally. I would get the advice of a more experience grower than me. Hope this helps

[Lucas]

Too much direct sunlight will cause reddish brown blotches to form on your leaves. That's okay if you don't mind reddish brown blotches. I find that a couple of hours of late afternoon sun is okay. I live about 100 miles south of you on the coast.

As for rooting leaves, I rooted one. It turned into a thick, healthy, leaf with a good root structure. It didn't do anything else so I threw it out. These don't work like African violets; you need a node to get a clone. Good Luck!

[Sea Mac]

Plain old Scissors.

But, and this is important to me, I always discuss it with the plant first. I'll explain that I'm doing this to help it: and politely ask permission to remove those 2 leaves.

I want MY surgeon to discuss procedures with me BEFORE he starts hacking away.

Enjoy both of those leaves!

[Hero4Evz]

Yes there are many plants you can root a leaf and get a new plant from, salvia is NOT one of them. Just because it works for one species doesn't mean it works for another. In order to get a new plant you must have meristematic tissues (undifferentiated tissue that can form new growth and a new plant, similar to stem cells in animals), salvia does not have these in their leaf tissues and thus you must have a node which contains these meristematic tissues in order to grow a new plant.

[pastlife209]

So, I have friends that want to buy plants from me in the future. How big should I let mommy be before it's safe to take the first branch cutting?