Salvia Species, Feathered Salvia, Jurisic Lavender Sage, Upside Down Sage, Yugoslavian Cut Leaf Sage

The soft textured foliage was a plus in my garden, and after tossing the seeds around last fall, I have numerous baby plants. There was s...Read Morenow for a week, perhaps that helped the self-sowing.

Here are a few details for germinating seeds of this plant:

1) Sow at 20*C (68*F) - germination slow

...Read More 2) Germination can take up to 3 months

3) Sow on the surface of a well-drained, sterile, soilless medium at 20-25*C (68-77*F). Light is needed, but application of GA-3 (Gibberellic Acid may help germination in the dark. Germination will usually take between 10-14 days, but may be erratic even under good conditions.

For a well-drained medium, try a mix of 1 part perlite (best) or sand (not too sharp) for drainage; 1 part milled sphagnum moss or peat for their anti-fungal qualities; and 1 part soilless potting medium.

I wait to sow seed like this until about 2 weeks before last spring frost indoors where I can keep them warm, with a sheet of clear plastic wrap over the top to maintain even moisture - some use baggies. Occasionally let in some air. As soon as germination begins, I put the pot outdoors minus the plastic to keep seedlings strong and to ward against damping-off fungus, which likes indoor environments.

When far enough along, this plant can be drought tolerant, but until then, don't let the seeds or seedlings dry out, but at the same time, don't ever let their pot sit in water, which can be fatal. Water from the bottom and take it out of the water the instant you see it's absorbed the water.

If you have enough seed, it would be a good idea to wintersow half of the seeds and then sow the other half as above.

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follow-up -

On 2/18/07, I wintersowed 47 seeds of Salvia jurisicii in a recycled qt-size yogurt container within a vented plastic baggy. About 1/8" gritty sand was on the surface, the seeds went on top of that, and then they were lightly covered with a sprinkle of more gritty sand. 6 seeds germinated, beginning 3/24/07.

Since Latin binomial names are being deleted from the winter sowing database, and since the common names being substituted can apply to so many different species, and since the genus Salvia is so diverse, I am entering this data here.