Fifth plant...hopefully I can keep it alive

[ilovesally]

I have had four plants now that I have managed to kill. 
First plant, Blosser strain was left at a friends while I went on a vacation.  It was over watered and died before I came back.
Second plant, Hoffman & Wasson strain was in poor soil and refused to grow.  Was moved into hydroponic system and died of shock.
Third plant, Blosser strain was growing beautifully but had a white fly infestation.  The insect killer that said "Garden safe" was too strong and caused the plant to shed its leaves.  Turned brown from the top of the stem down and died.
Fourth plant, Blosser strain was either over or under watered and shed its leaves.  No leaves caused it to die fast.

SO HERE IS TO PLANT #5!

Strain: Blosser
Lighting: 27w CFL...hopefully 250w HPS soon
Grow Media/Soil Mix: Miracle grow soil mix
Fertilizer: Miracle grow shake and feed
Temperature Range: 70-78
Humidity: Humidity tent (huge clear trash bag) will get humidity gauge soon
Started From: Ebay Clone
Start Date: Aug 21

Other Details/Images:

For the others plants I thought I knew what I was doing...after finding this site now I know better.  The clone is currently in the mail but I started gathering the stuff for its set up.



12" Terracotta pot, 4- 2" Terracotta pots for stands, and cotton clothes line for the wicking system.

Also picked up some of the parts to make a DWC hydro system.

More updates to come.

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Wow, I admire the dedication. And I just have to give you a Genius + for your efforts and learned experiences so far. You may not want to add any fertilizer for the first 30 days. Will this clone be rooted already or will it be an unrooted clone? I actually think you will do better with your 27 watt CFL than a 250 watt HPS. Is the CFL a "daylight" bulb? Also how big will this clone be? A 12" pot is very big to start it of in and would normally cause problems with the soil moisture, but since you plan on doing a wicking system it may work out. Keep us updated on how well the wicking system works as I have seen very few people on here use it.

JARG

[bifster]

Oh wow you poor thing!  And I thought I had bad luck....I'm sure this plant will do great, and I'm glad you found this community!  Salvia is such a tricky plant to grow, but only having a plant for a few months I've already learned so much.

[ilovesally]

Clone is rooted.  Thanks for the advice I will stick with the 27w CFL daylight and then experiment with the 250w HPS later on down the road.  Clone will only be 8" max but this will be my mother and I don't want her to go through shock from multiple re-potting.  I have read that too big a pot could cause moisture problems in the soil but I thought that I would try it out.

Many wicking systems that I have seen use polyester or nylon rope.  In my opinion cotton would soak up more water and is more pure.  So hopefully the 100% cotton clothes line will work for me.

I kind of jumped the gun on starting this log but I am so excited.  Cutting should be here by Thurs. Aug 21st.

Thought I would share the beauty of my third attempt at growing sally.

[Youpi]

Good luck, hope this will work 

[bifster]

No no no do not use cotton!  Have you already installed the wicking system?  Before I ever got my plant, I read a complete guide on growing your salvia and there was a very long section in setting in a wicking system.  I remember it said specifically "NOT cotton, 100% polyester".  I think, if I'm correct, the cotton rots if you use it?  It's something like that.  I'll research it, but really, get polyester!  You don't want to lose your plant to rot and fungus all because you used some rope made out of the wrong material!

*Edit:  the guide I used was on Iamshaman.com  (http://iamshaman.com/salvia/growing.htm)

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Good call bifster. I was thinking in the back of my mind that cotton would decompose, but wasn't sure how long the process takes.

JARG

[bifster]

Yep, my suspicions were correct, cotton does indeed break down and rot.

From the book The Best of Growing Edge by Tom Alexander and Don Parker:

Synthetic utility ropes will not provide sufficient wicking action and cotton rope tends to decay when in constant contact with water.

And also a good thing to note (I had to figure this out the hard way when preparing for my plant's arrival):

Don't bother asking for cable cord at the hardware store; it is available only at sewing centers and craft shops.

(page 10)

[ilovesally]

thanks for the info.  No the wicking system isn't set up yet.  One of my good friends had his set up with polyester but he complained that it didn't work very well. 

But I guess polyester is the one and only.

Nice save bifster, thanks again.

Unfortunately I couldn't find 100% polyester rope anywhere.  I have been to walmart, ace hardware, home depot and lowes.  All the rope that I have found is either cotton, "poly blend," polypropelyne, or nylon.

I was going to give up and went out to my shed to set my pot up for regular watering.  Right when I opened the shed door I saw this spool of strap that I had picked up from work a few years ago.  So I hopped over the lawn mower and took a look to see what it was....to my surprise I read this

Polyester!  Not rope but strap...maybe since it has more surface area it will help the water diffuse into the soil!

So I happily prepped my pot for the wicking system.  I took about an 8 foot piece and folded it in half.  I pushed the two ends down through the bottom of the pot until they stuck out about a foot.  I then added some river rocks (courtesy of my neighbor's yard) for good drainage just in case the wicking system doesn't work and I'll have to water normally.



I then added miracle grow potting mix and spun the strap around so it is in a helix shape throughout the pot.

I then put the pot on the little pot stands and dropped the two strap ends in some water.  I left the ends of the strap hanging outside the top of the pot so I can see if the water is making its way all the way up.



 

[ilovesally]

Sally came today.

Im going to keep her in the cup she came in for a few days.

Misted her and put her in a make shift tent.  She is under a 13w cfl

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Looking real good. Do you have a hygrometer to monitor the humidity level inside that tent? You may find that you need to mist the inside of the bag to keep the humidity levels up. But sine you got a rooted clone it shouldn't need the humidity tent for long as it can take up moisture through it's roots once it recovers from shipping. Just remember to ween her off slowly from the humidity bag. The plant's leaves may brown and die if it is in a low humidity environment, but every new leaf that grows while you are weening her off of the tent will adapt the the current humidity so eventually the new leaves will be adapted to the ambient humidity. It looks like you are well on your way to a happy plant!

JARG

[ilovesally]

I don't have a hygrometer just yet.  College tuition took all my spending money for a couple weeks.  She is already standing herself up though.  I'll just keep misting her a couple times a day...just enough to keep droplets on the top of the tent.

As for the wicking system, the water hasn't made it all the way to the top yet.  I might have to give the soil a good watering to start the wicking.

[ilovesally]

Sally was transplanted into the big pot today.  She is looking happy so far.

[ilovesally]

Here is how she looks right now.


Her leaves look droopy.  I don't know if its because she has too much water or if the humidity is too low.

Soil is wet but not soaked.  I have misted her often.  She is still in the tent but now has a 26w CFL.

What do you guys suggest?

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

I think now you just have to wait and she what she does...

JARG