The bright, lushly flowering Salvia plant, which belongs to the genus Sage, has become one of the favorite decorations of flower beds and flower beds. Moreover, this culture is pleasing to the eye on all continents of the world, except Australia. The plant attracts with its chic appearance, a long flowering period and, moreover, unpretentiousness in care. Therefore, even a beginner gardener will be able to grow salvia to decorate his site, from sowing seeds to planting healthy seedlings and caring for them.
When to plant Salvia
Growing salvia from seeds does not require special knowledge and efforts, but still you need to take into account some features of this plant. Salvia reproduces in several ways, but many years of experience by gardeners suggest that planting seeds is the most effective. This makes it possible to obtain more resistant plants and accelerate the onset of flowering.
The period from sowing seeds to flowering salvia is 3-4 months. Sowing seeds for seedlings is necessary taking into account the specifics of the area: in regions with an early arrival of spring, February is the best time for sowing, with late March and early April.
In order to grow healthy seedlings, it is necessary to adhere to certain deadlines for sowing seeds and planting seedlings in open ground. The lunar calendar will help determine the best days for this procedure in 2019.
Dates for sowing seeds and planting salvia according to the lunar calendar 2019
| Sowing seed | Planting seedlings | |||
| Month | Auspicious days | Bad days | Auspicious days | Unfavorable days |
| February | 6-8, 11-17, 21-25 | 4, 5, 19 | - | - |
| March | 12-17, 19-20 | 6, 7, 21 | - | - |
| April | 6-8, 11-13,15-17, 29, 30 | 5, 19 | - | - |
| May | - | - | 8-17, 21-23, 26-28 | 5, 19 |
| June | - | - | 1, 2, 5, 6, 9-13, 20-26 | 3, 4, 17 |
When planting seedlings in open ground, in addition to the dates of the lunar calendar, one should take into account the current weather conditions during this period.
Popular varieties of salvia with photo
There are several hundred species of salvia. Most of them are perennials up to 120 cm high. But in climatic conditions with cold winters and hot summers, salvia is most often cultivated as an annual. Several varieties of culture are most popular for decorating balconies, terraces and plots.
Brilliant
This is the most famous type of salvia, whose homeland is Brazil. The period of cultivation as crops is about 200 years. Thanks to breeding activities, today you can find shiny salvia not only red, but also white, violet, purple and even two-tone color. It blooms magnificently from the beginning of summer until the onset of the first frost. There are many varieties of tall and short salvia: the height of the first type is 80-90 cm, the second - up to 50 cm.
Medicinal
This species is the sage familiar to everyone, which is widely used in medicine and cooking. In natural conditions, it is a perennial shrub. In your garden you can grow it as an annual culture. He pleases with purple inflorescences of flowers in the middle of summer.
Red
The plant is grown as an annual, but at the same time reaches a height of 50-70 cm. The flowers are similar to both brilliant salvia and sage. The flowering period is from the beginning of July until the first cold weather.
Small-leaved
This species is notable for its small carmine flower tassels and green stems containing aromatic essential oils. Leaves and stems of small-leaved salvia are used in medicine and perfumery. Flowering of the plant lasts from early June to the end of October.
Mealy
This variety has straight stems, elongated leaves and inflorescences of blue or purple color, the length of which reaches 20 cm. The height of the plant is 90 cm. The flowering period begins in August and lasts until frost.
Motley
Salvia of this species is notable for bracts growing in the upper part of 50-centimeter stems. Inflorescences combine up to six flowers of pink or lilac color, they bloom in early summer.
The disadvantage of salvia variegated is the lodging of the stems. To avoid the problem, it is necessary to install supports in time.
Preparing and planting seeds
Before you start planting seeds directly, you should prepare the tank, soil and the planting material itself.
For landing, you can use any tank with low sides:
- homemade boxes
- shop containers
- cropped plastic bottles,
- cups.
There should be openings in the bottom of the tank to prevent stagnation of water and decay of seeds or sprouts. In the container for planting, it is necessary to put a layer of drainage, for example, expanded clay, pebbles, eggshells or sphagnum moss.
Soil for plants should be easily permeable to air and moisture. A mixture of land, peat and coarse sand in a ratio of 1: 1: 0.5 is suitable for planting.
The day before planting should prepare the planting material.
Seed stratification is not needed.
Seeds can be purchased or collected by hand. In both cases, you must perform the following steps:
- Fitness check. You need to pour warm water into a bowl, pour seeds into it and leave everything for 1.5 hours. Seeds that have sunk to the bottom are suitable for planting, and those that float on the surface of the water are "dummies."
- Disinfection. Salvia seeds must be wrapped in gauze and placed in a weak manganese solution for 20 minutes. Then they must be washed in clean water.
- Drying out. To evaporate excess moisture, the seeds should be dried under natural conditions throughout the day. No need to lay seeds near a battery or other heating devices, so as not to dry the core.
Landing
Having prepared the tank, soil and planting material, you can start planting salvia seeds:
- Fill the container with soil so that 3 mm remains to the top of the sides.
- Seal the soil by hand, then spray with water using a spray bottle.
- Place seeds on the surface of the soil at a distance of 2 cm from each other. It is necessary to cover the seeds with a millimeter layer of soil.
- Cover the container with film or glass and place in a warm, lit place, for example, on a windowsill. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 20-22 ° C. Excessive watering should be avoided.
Seedling Care
The first sprouts of salvia will appear 14-20 days after planting the seeds. From this period, film or glass will no longer be needed. So that the plants do not start intensive stretching of the shoots, you should lower the temperature to 16-18 ° C.
If the shoots sprouted in the winter, it is advisable to arrange artificial illumination for the plants. Watering should be moderate so that only the topsoil is moistened. When watering salvia, you must avoid getting water on the stem of the plant.
A few weeks after the emergence of shoots, it is useful to feed. Fertilizers with a complex composition of organic and mineral substances should be chosen.
A pick of plants is carried out when a second leaf appears. It is necessary in order to remove the weakest plants, and strong seedlings to dive into separate containers. When picking seedlings, shoots should be buried a little in the soil. This will strengthen the root system.
After the appearance of the third pair of leaves, pinching should be carried out so that future bushes are thick and lush. To do this, crop the top of the shoot.
Planting seedlings in open ground
Before planting salvia on the site, the plant must be accustomed to natural conditions. Start hardening should be 15-20 days before disembarkation.
First you need to open the window in the room where the seedlings are, for 10 minutes. Then it is recommended to gradually increase the duration of the air baths to half an hour. When warm weather occurs, seedlings need to be taken out into the open air. The length of stay on the street should also increase gradually. Plants can be left outdoors at night, when the average daily temperature is above +7 ° C.
When stable warm weather occurs, the seedlings can be moved to open ground. For salvia, a sunny place with fertile soil should be selected. When planting seedlings on a site, you need to take into account such plant characteristics:
- Active development of salvia. It is necessary to think about its placement in advance so that the plant does not interfere with other crops. The ideal distance between seedlings is 30 cm.
- Tendency to lodging. The lower part of the shoots can be sprinkled with earth so that the salvia is held upright.
Further care involves regular moderate watering, timely weeding from weeds and loosening of the soil, as well as periodic top dressing with complex fertilizers.
There are no particular difficulties in growing salvia from seeds. Only planting material and fertile soil are needed, as well as care and proper care. And for this plant will delight with bright lush flowering for many months before the onset of frost.
