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Learn how to growSalvia divinorum and post on the Salvia divinorum forums.
Looking to buy Salvia divinorum plants?
General Info
As you all know, these plants like it warm and humid. They can be grown just
about anywhere once they become used their environment. A few of the places I've
grown them include greenhouses, cool basements, sunny windows, and an apartment
with rather dry air. I think the biggest cause of failure is that people buy
stressed, sick and injured Salvia divinorum cuttings and they just never get a chance to recover
before they die. A good start makes the best finish. The best kind of plant to
buy is one that already has roots and hopefully more than 2 or 3 sets of leaves.
The best thing to do with a new plant is to stick it under a couple fluorescent
lights and mist it often. Hopefully within a week or two you will start to see
some vigorous new growth.
Watering
I've read a lot of different opinions on this topic. Basically, just keep the
soil moist but not saturated. It's ok to let the soil dry a little between waterings
as long as the plants don't wilt too much. The only time over watering is really
a problem is when the plants are young and don't have a good root system yet.
That's when they just sit there in the mud and eventually turn brown and rotten.
Too much water in the winter will also hurt them. Just watch the plants and they'll
let you know when they're thirsty.
Fertilizing
You can fertilize Salvia Divinorum with whatever you want. There's no magic fertilizer
that they like best. Miracle Grow has always worked well for me. I give them
a light dose about once a month. Basically, just water and fertilize them the
same as any other houseplant and they'll do fine.
Soil Mix
A good soil mix for Salvia is one with some organic material, peat moss, vermiculite,
perlite and a little sand ( Soil
Mixes ). Once again, there's no magic formula. Most commercial mixes work
well; just avoid the cheap black potting soil. The key is to make a mix with
good drainage and lots of air. I've seen beautiful Salvia plants grown hydroponically
as well, but I have no experience with it. I've always preferred soil.
Pests
Salvia divinorum pests will probably be a problem at some point in time for you. Spider mites
and whiteflies seem to love these plants. It only takes a few of them to start
causing leaves to curl and turn yellow. My best advice is to keep a VERY close
eye on your plants and take care of any bugs quickly to prevent an infestation.
Once you have bugs either remove them with your fingers or use a spray bottle
with water and a drop or two of Ivory soap in it to keep them away. Neem oil
also works well as a preventative; just use it about twice a month and most bugs'
stay away (Read about using Neem for Salvia divinorum).
Cloning
Taking cuttings is pretty much the only way to make more plants. I don't recommend
taking any cuttings until the plants are at least a foot tall and have several
branches. If your plant has only one main stem wait until new branches start
forming before topping it. Taking cuttings from an immature plant will usually
result in rotten cuttings and a dead mother. I still haven't had one of my plants
flower so I have no experience with growing from seed. The bad part is that Salvia
cuttings can be hard to root and many cuttings won't make it. You're best bet
is to take a lot of cuttings and hope just a few make it. (Some's better than
none!) Another tip is to only take cuttings from actively growing plants. Plants
that aren't growing leaves probably aren't going to grow any roots either if
you try rooting Salvia divinorum.
- Rooting in Water
Salvia will root in water fairly well. Just take your cuttings and stick
them in a glass or jar of clean water. Sit them on a windowsill or under
lights and they should have roots in about 10 days. Make sure to change
the water often so the stems don't get rotten. If the stem starts turning
brown and the discoloration moves up the stem, the cutting is a lost cause.
This rot is the most common cause of failure that I've seen when trying
to root cuttings. I try to keep the cuttings in different cups so that
if one gets rotten it doesn't spread to the other ones. Once a cutting
has a bunch of roots, take it out of the water and plant it into some moist
soil. It'll need some TLC for a few days so keep an eye on it to make sure
it isn't wilting. This is a time when misting is actually necessary. Another
thing you can do if you live in a dry area is to cover the glass with a
baggy to help keep the cutting from losing too much water. Here's a picture
of a cutting that's rooting in a jar of water. This one will be ready to
plant very soon. (it's a clickable image)

- Rooting Directly in Soil
Rooting Salvia in Soil also works well, sometimes... Take your cuttings and stick them
directly into a moist soil. Mist the cuttings often and they will usually
start to root within 2 weeks. The only problem I've had with this method
is more stem rot. Maybe sterilizing the soil first would help, but I've
never tried it.
First, you get some clean trimmers and take the cuttings. Now you get yourself
a flat and stick the cuttings into the soil. Next to the flat is the mother
plant after being trimmed. An optional step is to use rooting hormones (IBA).
I dipped one just for the picture but I didn't use any on the rest of the
cuttings. I'm still not convinced that hormones make this particular species
of plant root any better. Next, I put the flat under a fluorescent light
and kept the humidity high (around 70%).
Some things that could be experimented with to increase success are taking
varied cuttings. I've noticed that smaller cuttings tend to do better than
larger cuttings. Using rooting hormones may also increase success but I've
never observed that they really made that much of a difference.
- Hydroponic cultivation
Growing Salvia divinorum on hydroponics works very well. For more information on growing Salvia hydroponically go here: Grow Salvia with Hydro"
I guess the best advice is to keep trying until you find a method that works
best for your plants. I usually use the glass of water technique because its
easier, cheaper and usually works. Putting the cuttings into soil requires more
work to keep.
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