Salvia - growing from seeds

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Salvia, or Sage (Salvia) - perennial decorative-flowering, essential oil and medicinal plants of the family Iasnotkovye. Representatives of this large genus of plants (according to modern classification, there are up to 700-900 species and subspecies) are distributed in all parts of the Old and New Worlds.

Salvia has a characteristic tetrahedral stem and tubular two-lipped flowers of a bright red color, pleasing to the eye with magnificent flowering from June to autumn frosts. Currently, breeders have bred salvia varieties 25-80 cm high (depending on the variety) with flowers of other colors: white, burgundy, pink. Representatives of this large genus contain useful essential oils, many of them are used in medicine.

In a culture, salvia is grown as an annual. If the name “salvia” was attached to the decorative varieties, then to the medicinal and wild varieties it was “sage”. The most popular species are grown in culture:

Salvia sparkling, or brilliant Sage (Salvia splendens), which is used to decorate flower beds, rock gardens and in pot compositions. It is in perfect harmony with lobelia, cineraria, marigolds;
Salvia officinalis (Salvia officinalis) used in medicine as a raw material for tinctures and extracts.

Dry sage leaves make tinctures that help fight diseases such as tonsillitis, gastritis, bronchitis, kidney disease, and gum disease. Sage has a unique ability to stop bleeding, soothe toothache. It is able to facilitate the course of fungal skin diseases and psoriasis.

Sage leaves, for their medicinal use, should be harvested in autumn or spring before flowering.

Growing Salvia

It is not difficult to grow garden salvia and take care of it, the main thing is to sow the seeds in time, and the grown seedlings should be carefully transplanted into the open ground. Since the plant blooms only after 2-3 months, the seeds should be sown no later than February.

Sowing Salvia Seeds

Expanded clay is poured at the bottom of the planting box, then a light soil substrate, which is desirable to purchase in a specialized store. The mixture is poured so that at least 2 cm remains to the top edge of the box. Then the substrate is generously moistened and covered with glass or film and left overnight. Salvia seeds are tiny, so it is advisable to mix them with coarse sand before sowing. Then the seeds are scattered on the substrate and lightly crushed by hand. Then it is moistened from the spray gun, the box is covered with a film or glass and kept at an optimum temperature of 20..25 ° C.

As soon as the seeds germinate the seedlings must be rearranged on a sunny windowsill and provide them with additional illumination (daylight hours for young plants should be 12 hours, no less). When watering the soil can not be poured, but it should not be dry. In young plants, excessive watering often causes the base of the shoots to rot. If this happens, you must immediately remove the film or glass, reduce watering, and sprinkle the surface of the substrate with sieved ash or sand. It is better to transplant the grown seedlings into new planting containers.

Salvia seedling pick

After the appearance of two true leaves, seedlings dive into individual containers and cover with paper for 2-3 days. The soil is suitable for sowing seeds. In order for the bush to grow beautiful and lush, after the appearance of 3 pairs of leaves, the tops of the shoots must be clipped.

Salvia landing in a permanent place

Seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place after the establishment of warm weather, when the threat of spring frost passes. Plants are placed at intervals of 20-30 cm. The planting area should be sunny, and the ground light nutrient. If the soil is heavy, it is diluted with humus.

Further care

The plant does not need systematic watering, although in dry summer periods it will still have to be watered, otherwise it will wither. If this happens, you should wait until the evening and drink salvia. After watering, it will quickly recover and gain its former flowering appearance. Further care will be in cultivation, protection against weeds and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers.