hermit's grow log

[hermit]

So as my first post here in this community, I've decided to start it off right with a grow log...

Strain: Blosser
Lighting: window
Grow Media/Soil Mix: organic potting soil
Fertilizer: none right now
Temperature Range: 70s ish
Humidity: whatever
Started From: clone
Start Date: 06/06/2007

Other Details/Images: So my plant has been though a bit, although it's obviously still alive.  Ever since i've had it, it's had problems with these strange holes in it's leaves and it's never been quite the right color (until recently, it's been getting a darker shade of green).  Short history:
6/6/07 - got it in the mail from an ebay user... they said they ship early in the week so there would be no problems in the mail, but they LIED!  He was shipped on a thursday, and therefore spent the weekend in the postoffice.  Luckily, he survived and perked up after some watering:





7/something/07 - gave him a "little" food, which turned out to be a little to much cause there was some deformed growth (curled/twisted leaves, etc) which have died by now (oct. 07)

9/20something/07 - asshole friend of mine splattered some paint on it from the roof on accident... I promptly took him inside and washed him off as much as I could, got as much of the paint out of there as I could (although some of it still resides on a leaf or two)

10/17/07 - last night I got'em a bigger pot and more/new soil... while transplanting, my suspicions were confirmed.  hopefully it's enough space for a bit.

Recent photos:





you can see my flickr gallery of him here
well... turns out by the end of writing this i've decided to name my plant Arpeggi after the Radiohead song (go listen to In Rainbows if you haven't heard it yet!)

Does anybody have any suggestions to get rid of the holes/brownspots/improve color?  As of yesterday I've started misting him occasionally, and I usually water him every other day/every 3rd day.

[Arcygenical]

Browning is normal for a low humidity grow. It's the holes in the leaves that I'd be more worried about. Do you know why they're there?

[hermit]

not sure... they've been there since I've gotten the plant, but they've only developed around the edges of the new leaves.  There's no bugs to be found, and it doesn't happen to all of the leaves.  I had figured the humidity was part of it, I may be building a terrarium for it this winter (with a misting system, of course).  The second to top picture of the 3 leaves (one curling brown, 2 w/o patchy holes) was a picture of when I first got it.

[MstryShovel]

browning is just its adjusting to new environ, give it time, she will shed leaves and gain more, just let her be. holes would be bugs, but just keep an eye out if they are nowghere to be seen.

happy grwoning!

[Paradoxic]

Those holes are strange, the only thing I can think of is bugs...looks like caterpillars. Keep an eye out for them, they could be really small. Other than that your plant is lookin' good!

A grow log is definitely the way to kick it off here 

Sorry to hear of the eBay troubles, I've heard of some serious horror stories over there. A while back I found out someone was buying plants from here and then claiming they arrived dead in order to get free plants to sell on eBay. They would list before they even had possession of the plants.

Anyway, welcome to Salvia Source!

[MstryShovel]

every two weeks or so, i spray my plants with a low soap solution, this helps alot with bugs, it really helped especialy cause i justbrought in some herbs i had growing on my porch, as its getting a little cold outside. and all, but anyways it killed off a couple of little aphids that were milling around my plant(S.Officianlis)

[5010]

10/17/07 - last night I got'em a bigger pot and more/new soil... while transplanting, my suspicions were confirmed.  hopefully it's enough space for a bit.

What size pot is it?  I have my 4-month-olds in 10" plastic pots with 8 holes on the bottom, separated from the bottom tray by some white marble rocks (home depot said I could have whatever rocks I could scrape up off the ground since I didn't need a whole bag).  Did you put gravel in the pot under the soil?  Your plant is slightly older but has a lot more leaves than mine and looks great.  Mine were heavily eaten at their birthplace so they were a bit challenged.

Does anybody have any suggestions to get rid of the holes/brownspots/improve color?  As of yesterday I've started misting him occasionally, and I usually water him every other day/every 3rd day.

There's no way to get rid of old holes and don't worry about them.  Only need to worry if you see new holes.  Watering every 2nd or 3rd day seems dangerous, considering what I've read about root rot.  But so far it seems to be working good.

When I water I put the pot in a metal tub and let the water rise into the pot from the bottom holes.  There was a family of tiny white bugs and today I think I drowned them by letting the water level stay about 1/2 inch above all the mulch except floaters.  No sign of them.

Good luck!

[hermit]

The new pot is a 10" wide one.  I have pieces of a broken clay pot at the bottom for drainage, it works pretty well.  I've been basing my watering schedule on how green it gets, and this seems to work for now...

[Paradoxic]

The new pot is a 10" wide one.  I have pieces of a broken clay pot at the bottom for drainage, it works pretty well.  I've been basing my watering schedule on how green it gets, and this seems to work for now...

That seems like a good way to do it. So do you water when it starts looking less green (yellowish)?

[hermit]

lol no, definitely not.  I usually water more every other day in fairly small amounts, or when the dirt feels dry, but not crusty.  The color has improved even more recently, I'll throw up another pic when I get my camera back from a friend I loaned it to.  The browning hasn't shown up on any of the new leaves recently either, which excites me

Edit: sorry, i misread your post... I don't change when I water day to day, I try a schedule and see if he perks up any.  So far the schedule I'm on now has resulted in the best growth and color so far, so I'm sticking with it until I find a better way. Since winter is coming soon, I'm thinking of building a terrarium for him with a grow light since putting him by the window would probably be to cold... That'll probably happen in a couple weeks when exams are over and i'm back from amsterdam... pictures will be posted for sure.

Double edit: well i got my camera back already, so here's some updated pics

[MstryShovel]

the window will definately bee to cold, aswell ive read places you should water her a bit less in winter, i figure she goes dormant and what not.