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jeraperthro

My Little Salvia Apiana

jeraperthro
16 years ago

Well, after all those flopped sprouts in the seed starter trays (a good 40-50% germination, but they died quickly), I managed to get about six seeds to sprout and live, in some containers with a very dry soil/sand mix. I think they're loving this hot dry spring/summer we've been having here in Greensboro,NC, but I'm starting to wonder if they should be a little bigger, and perhaps if I've got them planted too shallowly. Here's pics to show how some of them are doing, and to show how the best one is laying down and bending back up, in reference to the aforementioned shallowness. Should I try to mound around it a bit, or leave it alone and expect it to gain strength? Thanks for any suggestions relating to this question, or otherwise!

~Eric



Comments (18)

  • Heathen1
    16 years ago

    They look like they need more sun! I'd gradually acclimate them to more sun. I have a baby that size in full sun. They like it hot and dry and at that age, they actually have a deep little tap root.

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    That makes sense. They're on a half-window, half-screened porch, and they get more later-day full sun, as opposed to the full day's benefit. I just dont know where they'd be safe, though. Everything else is indoors or exposed off of the porch. Is anything going to eat them?

  • Heathen1
    16 years ago

    I dunno your bugs, but I think Saliva a. is pretty bitter. Here in California, nothing really eats them... maybe some slugs. I think they'll be fine.

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Great, thanks. :) Also, I have a bunch of chunk quartz I could arrange for that largest plant to prop up against so it's not laying down so much. Would that help, or hurt, even? I mean, would the rock heat up in the sun -too- much and scorch the plant?

  • rich_dufresne
    16 years ago

    Make sure the plant is on the north side of the rock, using it for shade.

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thank you much!

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Just updating on my White Sage. Only four still alive, and two are kinda stunted. Here they are with close-ups of the best two. :)



  • ccroulet
    16 years ago

    Are you sure these are S. apiana? They look nothing like the S. apiana I know. This plant is native to my region. Here are two very small plants growing in the wild.


  • rich_dufresne
    16 years ago

    jeraperthro has her plants inside, with lots lower light intensity. The fine hairs that provide reflection of extra light are mostly absent, leaves are thinner and broader, and internodes are more distant. This is true for most plants, but shows up more prominently with xeric plants.

  • ccroulet
    16 years ago

    Hmm, that's interesting. Well, her plants need lots of sun. They can't get too much. The plants in my photos bake in full sun, sunrise to sunset, for weeks at a stretch. S. apiana loves the sun even more than S. mellifera, which I have seen (occasionally) growing in shade.

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Yeah they're apiana. I started them from seeds I ordered. And true, they're not in full scorching sun. They are on a glassed-in porch. I guess I'm a bit nervous about setting them outside, because it's been so difficult to get even those small results. But the way my house is arranged with such a small yard and trees around, there's not much day-long full sun in any spot, so I guess I have to try the best I can to find a spot for them.

  • youreit
    16 years ago

    In its native habitat, S. apiana is summer dormant, so those little plants pictured in the wild will look very different once the winter rains come.

    I planted my little one in April, and with a monthly splash of water (a minute or 2 of holding the hose on it) and full sun, it's doubled in size...at least.

    Brenda

  • ccroulet
    16 years ago

    I'll send some pictures of wild plants in Feb. S. apiana grows in virtual forests in some places. They finished flowering in mid-July, and seed is dispersing now. I've collected some, which I'll be propagating this winter.

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Update: The newest leaf growth at the top has a bit more of the white color to be expected. I can feel a slight stickiness on the leaves (I guess that's the micro-hairs?) The older leaves are still that under-curling darker green, rather than the upward-cupping whiter leaves as in most pictures I've seen. The stem is nice and woody, and now has at least three new base sprouting points. I've yet to determine the best sunny spot out in the yard, (as I sleep most of the day, working at night), but it seems like it's at least a healthy enough plant, even if it's not perfect.

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Update: The fullest plant, with leaves that have withered having been trimmed, the woody stem having lots of growth sprouts. I noticed that some of the newer leaves that were trimmed had begun to have that whiter shade, and began a tendency to curl upward instead of downward. There's hope yet. :)

  • ccroulet
    16 years ago

    My situation with S. apiana is that I have two cuttings, which I took in June, which is late. They seem to be in a suspended state. They're still alive, but they haven't rooted -- which I discovered when I put them in new medium about a month ago when I put them in new medium. Assuming they finally keel over, I'll be able to get some more this winter, plus I have seeds that I'll be germinating. But this suspended animation is interesting, something I hadn't expected.

  • rich_dufresne
    16 years ago

    Make sure there are no aphids hiding inside those curled leaves. Sucking insects can cause leaf curl

  • jeraperthro
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Dangit. Those fresh joints browned and shriveled. I think I can still see tiny green points where they were, but overall, the thing is a leafless stick now, and it's not even cold out yet. I haven't seen any aphids, and I don't think it's got wet feet. Is it just taking a break?

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