Spindrifter's Dungeon and Phytolab

[penumbra]

i did some research myself and came up with salvia cyanea too as a possible "sister plant" of SD. unfortunately, no one grows or sells cyanea. ill have to look into salvia madrensis (im planning a shade garden anyway).
i think graft hybridization would suit salvia well because it so readily reproduces asexually and has thick meaty stems. im intrigued...

[spindrifter]

Here's another pic.



The original leaves seem to be wanting to curl up under themselves. The roots must be doing well, because I don't have to augment the humidity anymore to keep the plants from wilting. Also, new leaves seem to be growing at the stem apices and in the leaf axils. I am pleased.

Penumbra, from what I understand, graft hybrids are not true hybrids, but sort of a chimera. If you were to isolate individual cells from the tissue, they would still be either species A or species B, genetically distinct from each other. The cells of the different species are differentiating cooperatively with one another into tissues and structures. So, on a graft hybrid plant, you might have blue flowers on one branch and yellow flowers on another... on the same plant!

[spindrifter]

I've made a lot of changes:

First, I repotted again. I'm not thrilled with that cactus/palm mix I was using. It's fine if you don't have to water often, like for cacti, but for Sd, it sucks. Too much peat. Peat + constant moisture = slime & gnat larvae. So I put them in some bigger 8" clay azalea pots and used a 1:1:1 blend of special orchid mix, perlite and vermiculite. It drains very smooth, and has lots of tiny air spaces for the roots to breathe.

I also blended some Bio-Tone into the mix. This stuff stinks to the Devil! It's made from chicken feathers, crab shells, manure...etc. Yeesh! I have high hopes for this stuff, though, because it also contains a laundry list of 'beneficial bacteria' and micorrhizal fungi spores. Has anyone ever used this product on their plants? I guess I should have asked that question before I repotted.

I've also boosted the lighting bigtime with 2 42W CFL's in brooder fixtures, and I'm using them to illuminate the plants from the tops and sides.

Well, I'm happy with the results. There's lots of new growth from all of the nodes on each stem, though the leaves are still small. I think they are about to really take off.

One thing is disturbing me, though. The old original leaves that came on the cuttings all curled up like cigars. Whatever, right? I figured it was just from the original transport stress, or from the cutting reorganizing itself hormonally as an independent plant. But the new leaves are doing the same damn thing! They just won't grow out nice and flat. Instead, they hang downwards and curl inwards over themselves.

What causes this, and how can I fix it?

[darjeeling]

Maybe they do still want some more humidity in the air.

[zaorr]

Fertilizer and or a response to humidity changes.

Michohorrizae will solve them both.

[Will]

Fertilizer and or a response to humidity changes.

Michohorrizae will solve them both.

Mine looked just like that.  After getting some Michohorrizae its made a world of difference. Its only been 2 weeks and the 2 new sets of leafs have no curl in them.

[spindrifter]

Thanks very much for the info, guys. I've already added mycorrhizal fungus spores to the mix, I'm not skimping on ferts, and the humidity is around 85%. My concern at the moment is temperature, which is around 82-85 F. That might be a tad high, and I don't have a practical way of getting it down, so for now I'll just wait and see how they do.

[Nachtkrieger]

Maybe i have a good tip for you! Nobody says anything about your plant getting used to new light environment!!!
i have found when sally put under differet types of light (spectrum changes) she reacts showing curled leaves deformed growth. I seriously think this is the problem. My advice: give it some time and lower temp (18 - 20 C), low ferts. ive u do this all will be ok.

greetz

[spindrifter]

Well, I've tried to get the temps a little lower the only way I can. I moved my cacti outside and shut down the HPS/MH fixture they were growing under. This has made a small but significant difference. Also, the medium has been innoculated with Epsoma Bio-Tone, which contains mycorrhizal fungi spores and beneficial bacteria. I've also cranked up the humidity to 85%+. Result: the newest leaves seem to be coming out normal-looking. Thanks for the tips, guys.

[spindrifter]

Well, I just don't know. Yeah, the new leaves are coming out normal-looking, but then they start to cup inwards. My temps are in the 81-85 F range, my humidity gauge always reads between 85% and 'HI' (90%+). I'm wondering if they are being exposed to too much ethylene, because I store gasoline and gas-powered yard equipment in the Dungeon. There's also the possibility they may have some kind of trace element defficiency. Has anyone tried that Superthrive stuff in the tiny bottle? The copy on the cardboard backing was so over-the-top superlative that I held off on buying it.

[DrYRHead]

Penumbra, I found one species for sure, and one definite maybe. The 'for sure' one is actually in widespread cultivation in the US!!!! It's called Salvia madrensis (Forsythia sage), and it seems to be able to survive in zone 8b (where I live). Here is a link:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/586/

The 'maybe' is Salvia cyanea.

JDogHerman, I've also heard of something called a 'graft hybrid', where one species is grafted onto another in the same genus, and somehow the tissue where the two are fused gives rise to shoots that can be rooted and grown into plants that have characteristics of both species. I thought that was very cool when I read that.

This "Salvia madrensis" looks like something I'd seen growing in the southeast before.
However, I live in the southwest, so it may not grow well where I'm at.

[spindrifter]

Hehe, I think someone didn't like you doing that, DrYRHead.

I haven't posted in a while, but here's an update:

I took a cutting for the 'summer grow-off' and...

...promptly grafted it onto another salvia species! What?! I'm not allowed to do that! Cheating you say! Well, I never...

I thought we were supposed to be innovative and think outside the box!

O.K., here are some (lousy) pics from the procedure.



Sadly, I don't think it's doing so well. Now, a few days later, it's starting to droop. I'll keep watching it. If this works, I will be very happy!

[Bayrat]

That is pretty cool!  I wanna see it grow!

[darjeeling]

WOW the more i learn about plants the more they seem so crazy.

Imagine getting an organ donation and a few weeks later getting features of the donor. Wicked crazy.

People who get a bone marrow transplant from a person with a different blood type will switch over to the new type blood.