Salvia (Salvia L) - the same sage - annual and perennial herbaceous plants, shrubs and shrubs of the family Labiaceae. In the genus, there are about 700 species distributed around the world. For decorative purposes, one of the varieties of a medicinal plant is widely used - sparkling sage, which has magnificent inflorescences of saturated bright shades.
Royal look
Salvia flower owes its royal luxurious appearance not only to the variety of bright shades, but also to the structural features of the stem and branches.
The stems are ascending or upright, branched or simple, up to 100-125 cm in height. The leaves are whole, sometimes pinnately dissected. Flowers are complex whorls collected in paniculate, sometimes spike-shaped inflorescences.
Salvia blooms plentifully from June to autumn frosts. Seeds ripen in August. Collecting them multiple. The fruit breaks up into four nuts.
Garden Salvia Varieties
When considering how to grow salvia, you should get acquainted with garden varieties. In addition to the classic sparkling sage, gardeners also use other species.
The most popular of these are the following.
- Salvia forest. Blooms in purple, white, blue flowers.
- Salvia is oak. It happens in pink and white, various shades of purple.
- Salvia meadow. The same classic colors are known.
- Salvia is unclean. In addition to standard purple, it may have red flowers.
- Salvia Transylvanian. It has lilac flowers.
- Salvia blue is a hybrid variety. Has all shades of blue.
- Salvia Japanese - non-standard yellow flowers.
- Salvia swamp. Blooms blue-blue.
Hard to learn
More and more flower lovers are wondering how to grow salvia. And all because it is a rather whimsical plant that requires special care. Often, attempts to grow it end in failure - the death of the sprouts, seed germination, lack of flowering, stunting. The breeding difficulties are influenced by many factors: planting time, seed quality, care features, climatic conditions, lack of knowledge of amateur gardeners. Before proceeding to the planting of sparkling sage, it is necessary to carefully study all the information about the nuances of its cultivation.
Preliminary landing stage
Growing Salvia flowers begins with buying seeds and preparing the soil. When purchasing seed, we are guided by three rules:
- We carefully study the shelf life.
- When choosing a manufacturer, we study reviews and recommendations.
- To avoid fakes, please show quality certificates.
It is equally important to properly prepare the soil for the future plant. It should contain the necessary trace elements and have an acidic environment. For planting, choose any capacity: it can be a cache-pot, pots or simple boxes. Expanded clay should be placed at the bottom of the selected container, freely sprinkled with soil on top, not reaching the sides 2 cm. After that, everything is closed with plastic wrap and left for a day. Do not try to find out information about how to grow salvia without seedlings, because a whimsical plant will not be able to develop from seeds immediately in the open ground.
Sowing and planting time
Salvia, whose seeds are planted 80 days before sowing, sprouts quickly, but grows rather slowly. The best time for planting seedlings is the end of February - the beginning of March. After 2 months, the plant will grow stronger, and after another 20 days it will be ready for transplantation.
The main mistake of gardeners is that planting in the soil is done at the wrong time. After all, salvia is an unusually heat-loving plant. Depending on climatic conditions, it is transferred to the garden. All manipulations with her fall at the end of May-June. In this case, stable warm weather should be established without sharp temperature fluctuations. Then the flower growing will be successful , salvia will delight you with its beauty.
How to plant?
Seedlings (salvia can not be immediately planted in the ground) when growing a perennial is required. For her, several bags of seeds of different colors and varieties are taken. Each of the species is seated in different boxes, and the packaging is attached to the container. This is necessary for the implementation of design ideas in the country, garden plot. Seeds are simply poured into containers prepared in advance, sprinkled with soil at 2 mm, watered, and covered from above. Sage feels especially good in a separate pot, then the roots gain sufficient strength and become more resistant to external factors. After the second leaf appears, the seedlings dive into separate containers.
Let's take a closer look at the issue of how to grow salvia in open ground. After 75-80 days, you can begin to plant the plants in a permanent place. It is best to plant them in loamy or sandy soil, at a distance of 20-30 cm from each other. We are very careful about rhizomes, in the earth we dig up a wide hole in advance, about 30 cm deep. We transfer salvia, sprinkle it with earth without pressure, and sprinkle lightly. It is not necessary to cover the plant, a perennial shrub easily tolerates both shade and wind, only cold can greatly damage it.
Moody plant requires special care
There is no doubt that, like any plant, this beautiful flower requires careful care. Many sources tell how to grow salvia correctly, but miss important points.
Golden rules state:
- Learn to water correctly! Salvia (photo shows us this) can be infected with a black leg due to excess moisture.
- Keep weeding regularly.
- Fertilize with humus or unsaturated mineral fertilizers.
- Avoid overcooling the soil.
- Pinch sheets.
Why is salvia not growing?
What if the cultivation of flowers failed? Salvia is capricious enough, but do not give up. Each situation can be sorted out by analyzing several factors.
The causes of death of plants are:
- Frosts.
- Diseases, such as a black leg.
- Excess moisture.
- Reoxidation of the soil.
- Damage to the root when planting seedlings in the ground.
- External influences - bad weather, animals, unforeseen situations.
- Weed plants.
Finally
Growing flowers is a fascinating, exciting process. This is an indescribable feeling of happiness when magnificent gardens, chic flower beds are created with your hands!
Learning to breed a variety of cultures is not at all difficult. And let every day the most beautiful plants delight you and your loved ones.