Salvia Plant Care.pdf

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Salvia Divinorum FAQs and growers tips

What do I need to start with?

I have often been asked by people either interested in getting or just having received plants, "Well, what

do I need to start with?"

I've put a lot of advice regarding the care of Salvia divinorum on this web-site. I hope people will find it

useful, but at the same time one shouldn't be intimidated in knowing where to start by what can seem

like too much information.

As I suggest elsewhere, with all the advice you can read (including my own information to some extent),

it's quite easy to get psyched out initially and/or go over the top with your plants in trying to provide

them with the most perfect and ideal of conditions. It's natural to want to take the best care of them but

remember that a lot of advice is coming from 'enthusiasts'.

I'll emphasise again my agreement with the person who said that they'd heard and read so much about

the care and maintenance of the plants before actually seeing one that they expected to witness

something really fragile and exotic kept alive with all manner of alien contraptions and artifice.

Over all these plants are quite hardy, adaptive and easy to grow indoors.

To start with you don't need too much equipment; you don't need artificial lights, hydroponics or

anything fancy.

Initially, on receipt of a plant, you don't need anything! Maybe a spray-misting gun (99p -

PoundStretcher!) and a saucer. You won't want to re-pot straight away. It is best to let a newly received

plant 'settle in' for a few weeks.

After that at some point you'll need a bigger pot, maybe a bigger saucer, a stick (or two, for support),

some humus compost and some vermiculite.

Vermiculite to mix with the compost is probably the most 'technical' thing you'll need, i.e. you'll

probably need to go to a garden centre to get it. You could try without, but I swear by it. There's more

detail elsewhere on the web-site.

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Will the plants be safe enough in the post?

With regard to how the plants are packaged and sent: Plants are packed in specially made boxes (so the

pots fit perfectly). The pots are sealed and are held in position within the box to prevent damage, - even

if transported upside down. I've sent many hundreds of them and had no problems yet with this

packaging method.

The plants are guaranteed to arrive healthy and viable.

From sending, UK deliveries usually arrive next day, if not, the day after. If I receive payments near the

weekend, then, rather than post on a Friday (or Saturday), I usually wait until Monday, to avoid the

potential Sunday 'in limbo'. But recipient can override this and I can send as soon as.

By default, plants are sent using Royal Mail recorded delivery (but I can simply send standard first class

at the recipient's request, if you don’t want to sign for it).

EU deliveries are typically posted on a Monday and typically take a few days longer but usually arrive

within the week of sending. The longest delivery was to Turkey, which took 11 days, but the plants

survived okay.

Having said that the plants are as well packed as they can be, don't be too surprised if they lose a leaf or

two during transport.

Plants may even (though by no means always) drop one or two more leaves after you've received them,

don't worry too much if this happens either. The plants know what they're doing; they will be adapting to

their new environment.

How many plants do I need to start with?

One plant, once it gets going, will be enough if you are just smoking the dried leaf. They grow fairly

quickly. You'd have a fair sized plant after a couple of months growth, say, up to 60cm high, with ideal

growing conditions and starting with a 26-30cm plant. Plus you can always start taking cuttings,

eventually having as many plants as you want.

If you are keen to try chewing the leaf (and don't want to wait to propagate your own cuttings), you

might want to think about getting two plants. This would also apply if you wanted to get more smoking

leaf sooner.

Note that when I say something like a few weeks or a few months growth, this does assume the plants

are growing. If you receive plants in winter (i.e. in UK or in similar climate and you are not using

artificial lights) then they will grow but quite slowly and you will need to wait until the onset of spring

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before you see much more significant growth

When can I expect to be 'harvesting' leaves?

Any leaves that the plants drop in transport or shortly after receipt you can use for smoking as soon as

you have dried them. There is no harm in trying anyway, even if the leaves are not full strength.

After a few weeks or so of growth you could try taking the odd one or two for drying and smoking

whenever you wanted, obviously avoiding the very youngest and newly sprouting leaves. You should

get some sort of experience even if the leaf is not fully mature. When the plants get bigger you will then

have more choice. If you select more mature leaf then this will likely result in a stronger experience.

It's also a good idea to pick any leaves that are looking perhaps past their best, maybe a bit mottled or

drying at the edges. The reason for this is that the leaves don't last forever. So an old leaf that is looking

past its best will not get any better. In fact it will eventually wither and die and/or drop off after maybe

turning pale and yellow first, so you may as well use it before it gets to this stage.

When can I start taking cuttings?

You can start taking cuttings as soon as the plants looks big enough. In fact, I would recommend taking

a cutting from the plant sooner rather than later. This will have the benefit of leaving a stronger sturdy

remaining stem in the pot, which will be better able to stand re-potting. And it will give you a cutting

that will root in a couple of weeks ready to make a new potted plant.

What strain are your Salvia divinorum plants?

There are (apparently) different ‘strains’ or clones of Salvia divinorum. The ‘Hofmann & Wasson’ clone

refers to plants relating to the first specimens collected by R. Gordon Wasson in 1962. The so-called

‘Blosser/Palatable’ clone is a second type collected by Bret Blosser in 1991.

Word is that the H/W strain may be more potent, but the palatable strain less bitter for chewing. You

hear tell of other strains / clones too.

My plants were obtained originally (but not directly) from ‘Gnostic Garden’. I have never been advised

as to exactly what strain they are. I strongly suspect that they are the H/W strain though, - as this seems

to be the more commonly available of the strains, plus the ‘palatable’ strain was only discovered

relatively recently.

Having said that, the other thing I have read and noticed is how adaptable the plants are. This includes

having the ability to ‘morph’, which, for example, is very noticeable when the plant grows in differing

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levels of humidity.

A plant grown in high humidity will look different to a plant grown at lower levels of humidity, the

leaves will be a different shape. You can witness for yourself how a plant 'morphs' if it is made to

change from one environment to another. I’ve seen this happen to mine as I slowly weaned them off the

high humidity that they were initially used to.

As well as the general appearance, I think other things like potency would vary as much with the

growing conditions of the plants as anything else.

What is vermiculite?

Vermiculite is made from a naturally occurring, non-toxic, soft mica mineral. It is heated to a high

temperature to produce a lightweight, sterile, laminated structure, which ensures adequate soil aeration

while at the same time having the ability to hold moisture and nutrients.

I have had good results using vermiculite, but this does not mean that is absolutely necessary. Don't

worry if you can't get hold of any, but keep an eye out, and ask at garden centres if you can.

Cuttings: Salvia divinorum propagates naturally and easily by rooting from cuttings. They will root in

plain tap water (without the need for rooting hormone powders or the like) normally within two or three

weeks.

The best time to do this is probably in the spring with the daylight extending, but in practice you may

tend to do it more in the autumn, when mature plants should be cut back anyway and it would otherwise

mean not utilising the cuttings. You can take cuttings whenever you like though, and I generally

recommend getting as many going as soon as you can, especially for the insurance of having more than

one plant. The growth rate is dependent on the temperature and the amount of light, for example, a

cutting taken in mid-winter should still work but could take 4-6 weeks to root rather than 2-3 weeks.

Artificial light can be used in the winter, see the section on lighting.

Use a clean sharp knife to take a cutting ideally about 20-30cm in length (but anything above 10cm will

probably be okay). You'll notice that the stem has distinct sections. Since the remaining stem on the live

plant will die back to the next section, it's a good idea to take cuttings near to a join between two

sections (to minimise such wastage), that is, from about 2cm above an intersection.

It's best to take cuttings of a reasonable size. Good thick stems means more biomass and ensures a

reserve for the plant to draw upon while setting it's roots so improving the chances of getting quickly

established vigorous plants. However, younger shoots can be used too, and if you are trimming the plant

or 'pinching' it, you may as well have a go with whatever cuttings you take.

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The cuttings will not be able to sustain too many leaves so remove those nearer the bottom of the stem,

leaving no more than half a dozen or so of the much smaller top leaves [...]

Rooting the cuttings in separate containers will isolate good from bad (in case one fails and starts to rot)

and improve the over all chances of success.

Simply leave them in their containers (I use glass jars) near a window but avoiding direct sunlight. Make

sure that there is enough water in the container, about 6-10cm depth of water for an average length

cutting.

Cuttings are ready for potting when you have a good few roots 2 - 4 cm long.

Cutting plants back: Plants should be cut back in the autumn. Their growth rate will slow in the winter

and if you don't do this then they may not be able to sustain themselves. I've had one large plant die

after not being cut back (admittedly it was also in a particularly shady corner).

However, as suggested elsewhere, if you are relating these notes to your own circumstances, which may

be different, then this may be less of a factor. Here in Scotland, the winter nights are about twice as long

as the days (- and the days can be pretty dark too!). Also, remember that plants can grow under artificial

light, check out the section on lighting back from here.

Potting: I recommend fairly big pots (25 - 30 cm diameter). I have seen clay pots recommended but I

simply use plastic pots, which are cheaper. The plants grow quickly in the summer months and can get

fairly large. My biggest plant got to about eight foot high, though I just let this one go out of curiosity

and there is no need to have your plants this tall. Cutting the plant back will allow you propagate new

plants as well as turning the existing one into a bushier, leafier entity. Even so, after a while you will

probably need to support your growing plant with a bamboo cane or some such. When potting, place the

rooting stem deep in the soil, almost to the bottom of the pot if you can. Remember with a newly potted

cutting to keep the soil well saturated at first.

Re-potting: When re-potting to a larger pot, for example, a newly received young plant, remember that

re-potting is always a bit of a shock. The plant may not grow for a week or two after this; it may even

shed a few leaves or even die back a bit. Make sure your plant has got used to its current environment

before re-potting. If it's been recently transported, you should let it settle in for a couple of weeks first.

It's quite a good option to take a cutting (or two) before re-potting. Then you have the benefit of the

cutting(s) as insurance, plus a sturdier remaining plant, with less leaf to support, better able to withstand

the 'shock'. An alternative to this is simply to remove one of two of the bigger leaves, or trim them, as

one might when making a cutting (see notes at the bottom of <this picture>). As with direct potting of a

cutting, re-potting should place the stem deep in the pot to ensure a sturdy plant.

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