Will's First grow :)

[Will]

Strain: Blosser
Lighting: x2 32w 48" t5 phillips alto
Grow Media/Soil Mix: I dont really know
Fertilizer: none as of right now
Temperature Range: 60f-90f
Humidity: 30-60%
Started From: clone
Start Date: 5/8/08

Other Details/Images: Well first off i would like to say I'm New here and i just love this site. I have looked everywhere for help during the 4 days ive recieved her. I had no knowledge what so ever and i was getting extremely nervous when signs of unknown were developing. When i first received "Lucy" the shipping was real bad. No peanuts or cushioning. The Styrofoam cup had broken and there was loose soil at the bottom of the box. The plant was wrapped with thick cardboard  and taped so much it made it impossible to even keep the cup intact. I went next door and asked my neighbor for some soil (since she has plant galore in her front yard) She gave me soil and even provided a new pot. I repotted Lucy and gave her a watering( tab water >.< )  Soon after i repotted she started to lean over. Considering that Lucy just had a ride of her life i expected it... lol.
  The next day 5/09/08 her leaves started turn black. This is where i just slammed the websites to find a community that grows this plant. It took a while but i came along to this site and from there its been cake. Lucy loves you guys ~ I provided Lucy with a humidity tent and she instantly popped back up within minutes. I am greatly amazed with their resilience.  I went out and got some distilled water. Got some fert.'s and lights. I performed the humidity technique you guys talked about here (forgot the name) and its working out great. Lucy doesnt need it anymore. She stands straight up. I do frequently mist tho because its gets hott over here (socali) and humidity is really low. Here are a couple pics. I used my phone camera because my digital is being used by a friend i haven't seen in months /sigh. So sorry in advance if the quality isn't good






The is wilting of leaves which ive read is normal after this shock Lucy has encountered. Same thing with the black leaves as well i hope.. lol. I will probably be getting a small CFL 26w everyone is talking about. I think this lamp i have is just too much light for a small area.. haha. So for now thanks for the great site and ill be back for updated pictures


P.S. Seamac i love the plants man. They are just beautiful

[JDogHerman]

its nice to see you here.

 


keep us posted with more pics!

[Will]

Thanks Jdog Ive been living in these forums for the last 4 days.. haha. Ill have frequent updates for sure. 

[JDogHerman]

its good to have you... you'll find that everyone is very helpful and there are some very skillful gardeners here.

[Sea Mac]

Welcome to the Forum!

I live in Southern California too! Salvia loves it here!


Salvia plants can grow very large if you support their stems!

Carl

[Will]

Great thanks for the tip Sea Mac Ill make sure to get some supports when i go back to the store for supplies.

[Sea Mac]

Great thanks for the tip Sea Mac Ill make sure to get some supports when i go back to the store for supplies.

I've started these plants off with skinny 6' bamboo stakes (Like for Tomato plants) and tying them with "Grafting Tape" and, 8 months in, gave them 8 foot "Sturdy Stakes" to lean on. (They wouldn't stop growing ... )

I get 300 Yds clear blue Grafting tape for $2 at Anderson's

[zaorr]

Oooi, another one of those cave grown Sallies. I am glad to see she has made it, a frail plant like that can't really stand that much in terms of shipping stress.

[Will]

Yeah im extremely happy Lucy made it. She doing really good right now. I think the shock may be over. She is starting to grow faster. Leaves are forming from each node and the top is producing another set of leafs. Since i went to the store and got some lower level lighting she reacting in a great way. I have 2 32w 48" t5's on her. Im sure that was just too much light for the drama she went through.  I got her a 56w cfl and set the light a lil further back. She loves it. I also got some soil. Should i do a 50/50 with these:
http://www.schultz.com/ProductCategories/Soilsamendments/OrchidMix/
http://www.schultz.com/ProductCategories/Soilsamendments/Perlite/

I also got some fertilizer:
http://www.schultz.com/ProductCategories/GardenFertilizer/AllPurposeLiquid/

I am going to use half strength because i think 10-15-10 is a bit much for Lucy. What do you guys think?

I got some bamboo sticks (thanks Seamac ), fans, bigger pot, better mister, Digital thermometer w/ humidity, and a razor blade.

I will put some pics up after Lucy's leaves at the node start getting more noticeable. Thanks for the advice in advance -Will 

[spindrifter]

I've seen a few other growers on this site using orchid mix. It's very free-draining and fungus gnats don't care much for it. It doesn't normally come with sustained release fertilizer. It breaks down very slowly, and releases very little in terms of nutrients when it does. Orchid growers depend on applied fertilizer when using this type of medium. I love perlite: it's great for increasing the surface area in coarser media like orchid mixes, but it has the annoying habit of floating and stratifying at the surface when watered. That shouldn't be a problem with the medium you have selected, because water will exit almost as fast as it enters. Invest in a pressure sprayer! They work great for misting, watering and fertilizing. They are super handy if you have a lot of plants.

[zaorr]

Get some micohorizae and in a month or so you can throw your sprayer away. My sallies is standing in my living room at 30% relative humidity and her leaves are 100% perfectly formed.

They just drink a crap load of water though, you need to make sure they have enough at all times.

[MstryShovel]

yeah micohorizae are great in the soil. i got a bit and put it in all of my plants and they are all hard to kill, makes them resistant to drought, dissease and uptake nutes easyer

[Will]

update:
Lucy is is definitely out of shock. She is growing way faster as each day passes. Her new leafs on the top are developing real fast. Its was like a couple days ago i saw them forming and now they are about 3/4 inch long. Each node has new noticeable growth. The lower bigger leafs at each node are starting to perk upwards. I went ahead and re potted her into the 50/50 premium Orchid mix(seclect conifer & charocoal ) and perlite. That stuff drains real fast.. lol. I put water in and as soon as i do its coming out the bottom. I used 1/2 strength of my fert 10-15-10 shultz since its still kinda early.I am going to keep a close eye on her to see when she needs watering. The weather was extremely hot this weekend (100+) and she held up fine. I did some research on micohorizae on these forums and world wide web. I would have to admit, i was skeptical in the begining but after looking into it i was easily convinced. I bought some Plant Success Soluble Mycorrhiza 4 oz but after i re-pot again im going to get the Plant Success Granular to place all around the roots for direct contact. Im really excited to see what this stuff can do.  Ill post some more pics when theres a lil more growth.

[Will]

UPDATE: 6/5/08

Strain: Blosser
Lighting: x2 32w 48" t5 phillips alto (waiting for the SUN SYSTEM® NEW WAVE™ T5 - 24 FLUORESCENT LIGHTING FIXTURE 2' - 4 LAMP
Grow Media/Soil Mix: 50/50 Schultz premium Orchid mix (select conifer and charcoal) and Schultz Perlite
Fertilizer: Alaska fish fertilizer 5-1-1 and Plant Success premium Mycorrhizae (soluble)
Temperature Range: 65f - 85F
Humidity: 32% DAY - 52% NIGHTS
Started From: clone
Start Date: 5/8/08

Heres Lucy getting a little sun light for an hr a day:



New Soil Mixture 50/50 Perlite and Orchid mix (select conifer and charcoal)


Heres a couple pics I took today. Once again, sorry for the bad quality.





More growth at the nodes:


I plan on pinching after this set of leafs. I cant wait for the new lighting system to come in. Ive been hearing alot about the t5 HO setup and its been nothing but great. Due to this medium ive noticed that i have to water every 3 days with my weather pattern. When i repot i am going to add some organic soil to hold some more water for the summer. It gets over 100f when summer hits. Lucy is doing great and ill post more pics when i pinch her. Thanks for everyones support -WILL

[Bayrat]

Lookin' good.  They have a nice sale on t5 bulbs here:  http://www.hellolights.com/