The zenith of summer has arrived and every plant is trying to make a statement. Flowering is a continuation of the species. Bloom, saturate the seeds with vitality and go into the shadows, giving way to a new generation. opens its panicle of tubular flowers at the height of summer, when pollinating insects with long proboscis are most active. With its victorious bloom, it fascinates and delights. How to grow salvia and create a composition?
Origin and cultivation of salvia
Salvia and sage are one family of Lamiaceae. The name of the flower is translated as a sign of its usefulness - to be healthy. Many people know about the benefits of the sage plant. It has been used for medicinal purposes since Ancient Egypt. Salvia is usually called decorative forms that have common ancestors with sage. In addition, in Europe, sage is called salvia.
The plant is cultivated in many forms and is a wild plant throughout America and Europe. The numerous genus is represented by more than 900 different varieties. Among the salvias there is even a hallucinogenic variety. The plant loves bright places and light soils.
Planting and caring for salvia
Urban landscaping cannot do without salvia for many reasons:
- Salvia blooms continuously throughout the warm period until frost.
- This beautiful ornamental plant does not grow and holds the created composition well.
- Gas pollution from transport does not affect the decorative appearance of the plant.
- By choosing different shades of inflorescences you can create any composition.
But gardeners love the plant no less, who begin to sow salvia at home when winter is just in full swing. In addition to the victorious scarlet color, salvia panicles amaze with a variety of tones. You can make a multi-level planting, selecting salvia according to the height of the bushes. But the main step in obtaining long-term flowering will be growing salvia seedlings.
How and when to sow salvia for seedlings
The plant from seeds blooms in the fourth month, and therefore is grown as an annual crop only after sowing in February or early March. Salvia seeds can be bought at a specialty store, or you can get them yourself. They ripen after the flower falls after 50 days. Seed germination lasts up to 5 years.
It is still better to purchase varietal seeds in specialized stores
Before sowing seeds, it is necessary to prepare the ground for seedlings. It should be light and nutritious. Two weeks before sowing salvia for seedlings, the soil should be treated with a composition that enhances biological processes in the dormant soil. Sift the earth, moisten it and add a teaspoon of EM-1 Baikal to a bucket of earth. The warm soil will become fertile in two weeks, and at the same time thread-like seedlings of weeds will emerge, the seeds of which will inevitably hatch in the living soil.
Place the box with the prepared soil in a tray, level it and sow small salvia seeds mixed with sand for a more even distribution. In order to press the seeds to the ground, you need to moisten the ground with a fine spray and cover the surface to retain moisture. Planting and caring for salvia during seed germination are decisive for the further production of healthy seedlings.
Shoots will appear in 10-14 days. It is necessary to monitor the condition of the soil at this time, preventing the coma from drying out. Watering must be done through a tray. The soil will be saturated with moisture through the drainage holes; then drain the water from the pan so that there is no excess moisture.
During the germination period, prevent plants from being pulled into a string and lodging.
Seedlings in the cotyledon stage can stretch out if they are in a shaded place or if night temperatures are high. Then you should add soil to each sprout, preventing it from falling. Watering should be done without wetting the leaf blade. When growing salvia seedlings from seeds, this period is considered the most critical. Lighting and reduced temperature will allow you to get strong seedlings at the first stage of planting
Picking salvia from seeds must be done after the appearance of two or more true leaves, while deepening the sprout to the cotyledon leaves. The first pick can be in a common container at a distance of 5 cm between plants. The second thinning of the plants is carried out a month later in separate cups, with a good capacity of the earthen coma, since they will have to develop for another month and a half.
Whether it is necessary to fertilize salvia when growing seedlings will be determined by the condition of the plants. If the bush is not developing well, you can feed the flowers in a low concentration. But with each plant transplantation, fertile soil is used and there must be enough nutrition.
When planting and caring for salvia, you need to make the plant bushy. After 3-4 pairs of true leaves appear, the top should be pinched to allow axillary shoots to begin to develop. At the same time, you need to arrange containers with plants so that there is no shading. From the end of April, the temperature at night is lowered to 10 degrees, hardening the salvia before planting in the ground.
So, in order to grow salvia seedlings from seeds, the following conditions must be met:
- prepare fertile soil and quality seeds;
- observe temperature and lighting conditions during each growth period;
- do not allow the clod of earth to dry out or over-wet;
- while pinching the plant.
Planting salvia seedlings in the ground
Planting and caring for salvia in the open ground involves choosing the right place for or planting. The place should be well lit, the soil should be light and fertile, with good moisture holding capacity. For vigorous flowering, you can add phosphorus-potassium fertilizers in instant form. When planting, add guest ash, a spoonful of superphosphate and a liter of well-rotted organic matter to the hole. Carefully roll the bush into the ground and deepen it slightly. Water with warm water and cover from the sun for several days until the plant takes root or plant in cloudy weather.
Plants are placed at intervals of 20-30 cm, depending on the height of the bush and its tendency to branch. Water the plant moderately; if the earth clod is dry, watering watering should be carried out only in the evening. Flowering of the plant occurs 100-120 days after germination and does not stop until frost. Flowering will be abundant if foliar feeding based on the drug EM-1 Baikal is used for prevention and to increase immunity.
Plant pests and diseases.
Salvia is not affected by fungal diseases. Therefore, you will only have to fight the insects that have colonized the plant. Pests include whiteflies and thrips. Therefore, salvia plantings should be kept away from vegetables, since the whitefly will subsequently settle on them. In addition, sage can be colonized by aphids and spider mites. The decorative quality of plants suffers. Therefore, strong preparations are used, which are best not used on vegetables during the fruiting period.
Snails and slugs love to feed on the tender foliage of salvia. If they are present in the garden, then it will be beneficial not only for the flowers to catch them. The classic method of bark and slate traps placed under bushes will help. But even the neighbor’s shellfish can crawl into containers with beer and fermented fruit juice.
Salvia for landscape design - video
Salvia(Sage) is a plant from the Lamiaceae family, perennial, decorative color, used in medicine, as contains essential oils.
Plants are either annual or perennial. According to flower growers, oak sage is considered very beautiful.
Salvia has about 850 subspecies, and is distributed from Europe to America.
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The stem of Salvia is tetrahedral, the flowers are two-lipped, tubular, deep red, flowering begins in June and ends at the time of autumn frosts. Breeders have developed varieties with a stem height of 25–80 cm, and colors that are distinctive from red: Burgundy, pink, white, orange, lilac. Next, a description of everything about the flower , photos of flowers, seedlings, when to plant seedlings into the ground. The amazing Salvia plant, videos and photo collages with these beautiful plants will delight you.
The most popular varieties are Salvia splendens, which is an ornamental species, and Salvia officinalis, which is used in medicine. Each of them has its own purpose:
- Salvia brilliantis is grown to decorate flower beds, and rock gardens are decorated with plants in pots. These flowers look great with cineraria, marigolds, and lobelia.
- Medicinal sage is widely used in medicine; various tinctures and extracts are made from the resulting raw materials.
Harvesting leaves must be done before or after flowering. The plants have a pleasant aroma, so overdose should be avoided.
"Salvia divinorum - considered a plant of fortunetellers, and can cause hallucinations"
Photos of Salvia varieties
Sowing the seed
Salvia begins to bloom no earlier than three months after sowing. Therefore, the optimal time for sowing seeds is February or March. When growing perennial salvia, the time for sowing varies. The seed is sown in the fall, before the onset of frost. Annual and perennial plants have no differences in care and do not require special attention. Flower seeds can be purchased either in a store or collected from home specimens.
Seed preparation
Before sowing the seed is needed treat with a solution of potassium permanganate 0.1%. After this, rinse the sowing material under running water, then place it on a paper or fabric towel and wait until it dries completely. Granulated seed purchased in a store does not require pre-treatment.
A protective shell with nutritional properties protects the seeds from damage and simplifies the planting process. Sowing of granulated seeds should be done earlier than usual; the protective layer slightly delays the germination of the seeds.
Salvia flower - planting and care
It is best to produce in light soil saturated with air and moisture, preferably fertilized with nutrients.
Ready-made soil is sold in specialized stores, or it is made at home. Prepare the soil mixture, and it is advisable to let it sit for a week before sowing seeds in it.
Recipe for preparing soil at home:
- Two parts of turf soil.
- One part sifted pitch.
- Two parts of peat.
If the soil is highly acidic, you can add a little lime to the mixture (no more than 5%). After this, the mixture must be thoroughly mixed and sifted. Expanded clay, 1.5 cm thick, is poured onto the bottom of the box - this will ensure drainage. Then a large fraction of the mixture is poured, and a finer sifted mixture is placed on top of it.
After this, the soil must be disinfected by watering it with a hot solution of potassium permanganate. The box with the prepared soil must be placed in a tray, and the soil should be leveled. The distance from the top edge of the box to the ground should be more than 2 cm; sow the seeds in fine-grained soil. The rows should be spaced 3 to 5 cm apart from each other.
Granulated seeds should be sown in a square-cluster method, at a distance of 3 cm from each other. Seed immersion depth 2 mm. Spray the top layer of soil with a spray bottle. Cover the box with film to create a greenhouse effect.
Sage seedlings sprout after a week and a half, but in some cases after two (it all depends on the seeds and microflora). Granulated seeds can germinate and up to 3 weeks. The soil should not be allowed to dry out, but it should not be flooded either. Watering is done in two ways: either through a tray, or by spraying from a spray bottle. Drainage facilitates the flow of moisture to plants and retains moisture.
Excess moisture harms the condition of the seedlings and will certainly lead to rotting of the roots. In this case, the film must be removed and the ground sprinkled with dry sand or ash. Hatched seedlings must be provided with sufficient light. Additional lighting can be provided using a fluorescent lamp.
The photoperiod for seedlings should be approximately 12 hours
During the night, the temperature should be around 20˚C, during daylight around 25˚C. Around the sprouts, as they grow, you need to add soil. The sprouts should not be allowed to fall. Protect the leaves of the seedlings from contact with drops of water.
Correct use of light and temperature conditions will grow healthy seedlings. Sprouts can be hardened by removing the film for a certain time, immediately for 10 minutes, later for 15, and so on until it is completely removed. The hardening procedure can only be applied to already strong sprouts.
Planting Salvia in open ground
Salvia will feel comfortable in light sandy soil, but rich in lime, humus, and well permeable to moisture. All types of Salvia love the sun, so the area should not be shaded; only sticky Salvia can grow in areas with shade. As soon as the night frosts have subsided and the spring sun has warmed the ground, Salvia can be planted.
How to plant Salvia?
Planting and caring for Salvia can be done even by gardeners with little experience, and planting hardened seedlings will seem like an easy walk. Dig holes at a distance of 25-30 cm from one another, pour 1 handful of humus into them, and transplant the flowers from the pot.
Salvia growing process and care
The Internet is full of videos describing what and how to do, but it’s easy to understand - caring for Salvia is no different from caring for any garden plant, fertilizing the soil, watering, weeding as needed - these are all necessary actions. It is necessary to water only after the soil has completely dried out from the previous watering, exclusively in the evening; moisture should not be allowed to stagnate in the roots. After watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil and get rid of weeds. It is necessary to feed at least twice: initially the seedlings, and the second time during the formation of the peduncle.
Perennial Salvia
It will cause much more trouble than a one-year or two-year-old tree; it additionally needs pruning to give it shape. Trimming will prevent the stems from stretching and promotes bushing of young shoots. When the flowering of perennial Salvia ends, faded flowers must be removed; before the start of the next growing season, old shoots must be cut off on the bushes, leaving 2-3 cm along with young buds.
The Salvia plant is not afraid of fungal diseases. The only and main problem for the plant remains insects: aphids, thrips, whiteflies, spider mites, snails and slugs. These insects cause great harm and can lead to the death of the plant.
Whiteflies easily migrate to flowers if planting is carried out near vegetables. They destroy the leaves and leave the plant to dry out, sucking the juice out of it. The whitefly is capable of covering large areas in a short time.
Without suitable chemical treatment, the flowers die.
If it appears on plants aphid, you need to promptly treat it with an appropriate solution. Aphids can multiply to destructive proportions in a short time and destroy a huge area of sage plantings.
Thrips are very difficult to see; they are almost microscopic in size. If the leaves begin to curl and dry out, this is a sign of the appearance. Thrips can be killed using insecticides. Plants affected by spider mites must be removed and burned at the stake.
Snails and the like love to eat young shoots of leaves. Snails and slugs approach the plant on the ground; the bark of a pine tree, or any other tree, scattered under the plant will help get rid of these pests. You can remove slugs by hand.
The best defense is prevention. Prevention should be carried out periodically, weeds and diseased plants should be removed in a timely manner. Spray with tobacco decoction mixed with liquid soap (4 grams of soap per 1 liter of decoction).
Flowering has ended, what to do next?
The beginning of June pleases with the flowering of Salvia, and can continue until the autumn frosts. Some varieties can bloom twice a year. Forest Salvia, fully pruned after flowering and well fed, explodes again with new color in late summer. If Salvia has completely bloomed, you need to prune and mulch the roots. Treat growing points with garden compost, so the plant will survive the winter without stress.
How can we sum it up?
These incredibly beautiful flowers will decorate every garden or flower bed. Behind this beauty is the time and effort spent on growing seedlings. Growing seedlings makes future plants strong and resilient, capable of bearing healthy seeds in the future. Healthy cultivation will only occur with proper care and compliance with certain rules. Proper preparation before growing seedlings is important; this factor determines the future offspring.
Salvia is a whole genus of herbaceous perennials belonging to the Lamiaceae family. One of the varieties, called sparkling or brilliant, has long occupied a place of honor in front gardens. A detailed description and beautiful photographs of flowers will present them in the best possible way. And tips on sowing, growing seedlings and further caring for this whimsical plant will help you finally confirm your desire to have a beautiful salvia on your own plot.
Description of Salvia shiny
Salvia is not particularly demanding on the composition of the soil, but it is still recommended to loosen heavy soils with sand.
Advice. It is not recommended to heavily fertilize the area where salvia will be planted with humus. In this case, the root system will develop well, and there will be few flowers.
Since the plants are planted already quite large, holes of a suitable size should be prepared for planting. The required interval is 20-30 cm. The dug holes are well filled with water, and the salvia is transferred into the resulting dirt along with a lump of soil from the pot. With this method of planting, the plant is not injured, quickly grows and begins to bloom.
Caring for sparkling salvia is quite standard:
- watering as needed;
- regular loosening of the soil, removal of weeds;
- fertilizing several times during the season with complex mineral fertilizer.
Salvia practically does not bloom in shade. Therefore, it needs to be planted away from tall plants.
Advice. A flowerbed consisting only of shiny salvias of one or several colors will look very beautiful. Also, this plant looks great in the background in border plantings next to low-growing marigolds and annual phlox.
Popular varieties and varieties of salvia brillianti
The brightest is the red variety. Its red flowers look especially beautiful in autumn. Popular varieties with red flowers: Salvator, Red Arrows, Fire Star, Sahara. The white one is distinguished by an inflorescence of lower density. Her flowers are cream. Purple variety - dark flowers have a velvety appearance, making them look very catchy. Shiny salvia with a pink color - the corolla of the flowers is also velvety, thanks to the dense pubescence. The inflorescence density is average between the white and red varieties.
Salvia brilliantis is a rather troublesome plant to grow. However, the result is worth it. Flowerbeds and borders will acquire a special charm if the central place is occupied by shiny or sparkling salvia. Its bright flowers will delight the eye until the onset of winter cold.
Salvia: video
Every year, summer brings a lot of warmth to the earth, which all plants without exception so need. It is necessary for flowering and ripening of seeds that are destined to replace the previous generation. Salvia at this stage of development is presented in the form of a panicle of tubular flowers, which in the midst of summer begin to pollinate the well-known insects with long proboscis. These flowers cannot but delight the gardener who decided to plant them on the site. However, this matter is quite complex and not known to everyone, so many people often make mistakes.
Origin and cultivation of salvia
A photo of a plant may cause surprise, because it is unfamiliar to ordinary summer residents. However, experts are well aware of its features.
Salvia is a close relative of sage, which represent the Lamiaceae family. If you try to translate the name of the plant, it will be clear about its purpose - to be healthy. Sage belongs to a group of traditional plants, the beneficial properties of which people learned many centuries ago. Back in the days of Ancient Egypt, it was used to combat various ailments. Salvia is one of the decorative forms that, like sage, originated from common ancestors. However, in European countries it has long been customary to identify salvia and sage.
From the moment when people first learned about the existence of the plant, it began to be actively cultivated in a variety of forms. Salvia is most abundant in the wild in America and Europe. The salvia genus is quite numerous and includes over 900 different varieties. There are quite interesting types on this list, for example, the hallucinogenic variety. This is a very light-loving plant that grows best in light soils.
In recent years in cities Salvia is often used to decorate streets, which can be explained by a number of reasons:
For quite a long time, gardeners around the world have been practicing growing salvia at home. They are attracted to this perennial plant not only by the bright scarlet color of the panicles, but also by the rich color palette. If you wish, you can arrange a multi-level planting, if you use salvia species of a certain height. However, in order for this plant to retain its beautiful flowers for as long as possible, it is necessary to approach the process of growing seedlings correctly.
Salvia: photos of flowers, seedlings when to plant?
Considering that at least 4 months must pass from the emergence of seedlings before salvia begins to bloom, it is necessary to sow seeds for seedlings of this annual in February or early March. To purchase the seeds of this ornamental plant, you can contact a specialized store or collect them yourself. For this it is necessary wait until the flowers wilt and fall off, and after 50 days you can collect fully ripened seeds. This planting material is suitable for sowing over the next five years.
Caring for salvia flower seedlings
When the seeds begin to hatch, you need to do everything necessary so that the plants do not begin to stretch into a thread and die. This usually happens if the sprouts are kept in a shaded place or room where it occurs at night. strong rise in temperature. In this case, the plants need to be sprinkled with additional soil to protect them from falling.
You need to be very careful when watering, avoiding getting the leaf blade wet. This period is one of the most important when growing salvia seedlings from seeds. To obtain strong seedlings, it is necessary to provide additional lighting at the first stage of planting and maintain a low temperature.
Salvia seedlings are picked at the moment when the seedlings form at least two true leaves. During transplantation it is necessary deepen the shoots to the first cotyledon leaves. For the first time, the plants are transplanted into a common container, placing them no closer than 5 cm from each other. The second time, the seedlings are picked a month later, using individual cups. They must be filled with high-quality soil mixture; seedlings must be replanted with a sufficient amount of earthen ball, since they will have to grow for at least one and a half months.
It is possible to understand whether there is a need to apply fertilizers when growing seedlings only over time. If it is clear that the seedlings are growing very slowly, then fertilizing with mineral compositions for flowers, which should be applied in small quantities, would be useful. However, the main thing that needs to be understood is that every time a transplant is carried out, the plants are planted in containers with fertile soil.
The formation of 3-4 pairs of true leaves in seedlings is signal for pinching the top. This operation will help speed up the formation of axillary shoots. At this stage of the seedlings' life cycle, they must be spaced at certain intervals to prevent shading. In the last days of April, you need to lower the night temperature to 10 degrees, which will help better prepare salvia for planting in open ground.
You can get high-quality salvia seedlings from seeds if you follow the following recommendations:
- the soil used for growing seedlings must be fertile and the seeds must be of high quality;
- it is imperative to maintain optimal temperature and lighting conditions, taking into account each specific growth period;
- constantly monitor the condition of the earth clod and moisten it if necessary;
- Pinching plants at the moment when it is required for salvia.
Planting salvia seedlings in the ground
Before transplanting this perennial plant into open ground, it is necessary find a suitable place for a flower bed. Mandatory requirements that the site must satisfy are the presence of good lighting, light fertile soil with excellent moisture capacity. You can increase the splendor of flowering by adding instant phosphorus-potassium fertilizers to the soil. Before transferring the seedlings into the holes, add a handful of ash, a spoonful of superphosphate and a liter of well-rotted organic matter.
Planting is carried out using the transshipment method, the plants themselves need to go a little deeper. After watering, for which warm water must be used, the plants need to create artificial shade for a couple of days so that they can take root, if it is not possible to transplant in cloudy weather.
Conclusion
Salvia is a worthy decoration for any garden. However, to grow it, you need to spend a lot of time and effort growing seedlings. This technique allows you to obtain strong and hardened plants that easily take root in open ground. But this event can be successful only if all conditions are met. The most important thing is to properly prepare for growing seedlings, since it is this that determines the future quality of the plants.
Salvia splendor flower
