How to Grow Salvia Seeds

Salvia exists in hundreds of species and loads of color. It comes from what is considered a sage plant and is actually put into the flower category. With all of the variations, Salvia is actually a fairly easy flower to propagate, grow to a beautiful flow of colors and even captivate not only the seeds but the hearts of all who see these beauties. The Salvia flower comes in an abundance of colors, ranging from red, blue, purple, pink and even a scarlet orange. An annual flower in colder climates will continue to grow if you pinch off the flowers which are dying or dead.

Fresh Salvia seeds

Potting soil with good drainage

Water mister

Fertilizer

Small pots

Clear plastic medium sized cups

Larger growing pots

Stakes

Any seeds you have should be kept in dry, sealed containers to keep them viable. It is thought, as with many different types of seeds that you can keep them even longer, if you place them in your refrigerator.

You should start out with a good quality potting soil with good drainage. The seeds are tiny, so when watering, at first you should pre-water your soil and then water with a wick system or from the bottom of your planter by placing the container in a watering bowl made for pots or in a small bowl.

Plant your seeds only 2 to 3 millimeters deep (between 0.08 and 0.1 inch). The seeds can be slow growing, so patience is necessary with these plants. Within 2 to 4 weeks your seedlings should start to emerge. Take care to make sure the room temperature the seedlings are growing in is between 60 to 80 degrees.

Begin to fertilize your new cuttings or your newly established plants from seeds after your plants are a month or more old or have reached at least 2 in. in height. Only use half strength fertilizer for the first few times you fertilize them so as not to burn your new plants. After the first few times then move on to whatever the instructions are for full strength based on the fertilizer you are using. Do not over feed the new seedlings and plants because they are sensitive to getting too much fertilizer and may end up with burned, dying or deformed plants if used in excess.

Once your plants have grown for a few months, plan on re-potting them. Salvia flowers like to have plenty of root room and do not like excess amounts of direct sun so it's best to place them in a lightly shaded area; giving them only 2 to 4 hours of direct light. If planted directly into the ground, your plants can grow very fast and in six months can grow up to at least two meters.

After the plants reach one meter you may notice some bending of the stems. The stems are not very strong once they reach over heights of one meter. If the stems do not break, but bend to the ground and contact the soil, they are known to root at the contact spot and start up new stems and plants from that location. If you allow your plant to grow this way you are sure to have many sets of flowers from just one planting in a short amount of time.

The Salvia's ideal temperature range is from 60 to 80 degrees. The plants will easily tolerate temperatures around 18 degrees above and below the range specified, but you are sure to see slow growth if the plants are grown outside of their ideal range.

Salvia also prefer a fair amount of humidity, over 50 percent is what makes the plants happiest. Moisture also makes the salvia plants very happy. This can be done by misting your plants with a water mister or sprayer. Misting your plants also helps to deter any bugs from staying on your new or older salvia plants as well as cleaning the leaves of any dust or dirt that may have accumulated on them.

Remember that salvia plants start out as a slow growing plant and every time you change from a smaller pot to a larger pot, it will take some time for your plant to recover and to start its growth back again. Although, the larger the pot, the larger your plant will get, but this plant does take time, patience and loving care for it to flourish.

Remember that if you want your plant to grow "tall", you will need to put a support up because of its weak stems once it has passed a foot tall. If you allow your plant to droop and you want it to reproduce side plants, give care and support to those stems as they grow till they reach ground level again. Once at root level the salvia will take care of the rest of the re-rooting process if the soil you place the stem on is of optimal growing condition for it (well drained, good potting soil or its equivalent).

The salvia plants do not like dry air. Deformed growth will often occur when it is put into dry air conditions. Mini to larger greenhouses are very sufficient for obtaining and keeping the best growing conditions for your salvia plants. These types of growing "houses" not only help to keep the moisture and humidity levels at the right point but also gives enough light, but not too much for optimum growing conditions.