Growing Salvia Divinorum Indoors or Outside
Learn How to Grow Salvia Plants and Solve Common Growing Problems
S. Divinorum prefers loose soil with good drainage. It does better with frequent waterings of smaller amounts than most tropicals, although root rot is a danger. It’s important to have good drainage and not let the plant sit in water for any length of time.
Salvia prefers temperatures between 60 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity. Temperatures above 90 degrees stress the plant. During these times more frequent watering may be necessary. Salvia is not frost tolerant.
Salvia growing problems
High temperatures or dry air will show up as browning of leaf edges. A single day of dry, 90-degree weather may turn all growing leaves brown at similar spots along the edge of each leaf. Direct sunlight contributes to a browning of the leaf tip, and can extend slowly to the leaf stem over a period of days or weeks. There is no way to reverse the damage but, fortunately, salvia will put out many leaves during its life span when given proper conditions. The drying of leaf tips and edges are more of an aesthetic inconvenience than harmful to the plant.
Curling upward of the very end of the leaf tip is a sign of over fertilizing, which can be corrected by flushing the medium or increasing the light exposure and air movement. It is also more aesthetically damaging than a danger to the health of the plant.
Salvia is very adaptable when moved between different conditions. When transferred from a high humidity environment to one of lower relative humidity it tends to lose most, if not all, of its leaves. Unproductive shoots will turn brown and hard. If the stem browns all the way to the surface of the dirt it may still not be dead. New growth may emerge from beneath the soil surface.
Creating healthy growth
Compact, bushy, growth can be achieved by pinching growing tips. The stems between nodes will continue growing after the tip has been pinched so, to keep the plant compact, pinch every tip after it spreads away from the previous node.
A zigzag or lightning bolt appearance to the stem can be created by removing only one side of each grow tip. Salvia will suffer from severe phototropism – bending of growing stems – and may need to be rotated every other day to keep it from falling over indoors. This is due to its natural tendency to fall over and re-root in the wild.
Insects and pests
Pests are less attracted to S. Divinorum than other plants due to its strong bitterness and natural defense mechanisms. Spider mites have been known to take over an entire plant when left neglected for less than a week – so regular inspections are still necessary. Using composted materials for the soil or an organic fertilizer can also contribute to pest invasions on indoor plants. Gnats are fond of the soil surrounding organically fertilized salvia but can be reduced with good air movement, such as an indoor fan. Air movement will also increase the size of the stems but caution should be used to not overly dry the plant with hot air.
Salvia strains
The two accepted strains of salvia are Blosser and Hofmann & Watson. It is impossible to tell them apart visually, but the Hofmann & Wasson strain may have a more bitter taste.
How to propagate Salvia
In the wild, S. Divinorum reproduces by lying over and re-rooting itself. With sufficient humidity the stem grows roots from the leaf nodes. Once rooted, this plant grows in a similar manner to most Coleus plants, but can reach heights of up to six feet.
There have been no reports of a single plant grown from seed, making salvia a cultivar. Seeds for sale on the Internet are almost always a scam. However, healthy plants will often survive being shipped by mail for up to four days. See Cloning Salvia Plants.
Salvia Divinorum
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