Growing Salvia from seed indoors. Need help with indoor lighting.

statsman

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I am interested in growing a few different Salvia from seed this year. I currently don't grow plants from seed. These Salvias have not been sold at any of our local nurseries (within an hour's drive). Frustrating because these Salvia are considered native to parts of Texas, including our area in Central Texas.

I have the seeds, seed starting mix, and domed trays to start the seeds inside the house. We have an area that should provide ample warmth to get the seeds germinated. This is a small-scale need, something that, if successful, I will repeat in the coming years.

My biggest concern is indoor lighting once the seeds have germinated. I don't expect to need more than a single row of lighting 4' long. I will only have a few planting trays. Most people recommend having a seeding rack with several shelves, which for my needs would be wasted space.

Does anyone have some suggestions for a simple setup to handle the indoor lighting for my situation?
 
I just asked my wife she has raised a lot of flowers from seed planted in house late winter and then replanted in spring.
She said she really doesn't have much advise and said there is a lot of different varieties but when she did raise them from seed she always used heat pads under the trays ad all light was natural sun light. We have a large Arizona room with all windows on east and south side and that was where the plant tray were in the sun when it shined.
Her success varied through the years but she always had plenty of plants (salvia) included with many others.
Not sure if of any help and good luck. I always start some tomato and vine plants from seed and I'm looking forward for that.
 
I am interested in growing a few different Salvia from seed this year. I currently don't grow plants from seed. These Salvias have not been sold at any of our local nurseries (within an hour's drive). Frustrating because these Salvia are considered native to parts of Texas, including our area in Central Texas.

I have the seeds, seed starting mix, and domed trays to start the seeds inside the house. We have an area that should provide ample warmth to get the seeds germinated. This is a small-scale need, something that, if successful, I will repeat in the coming years.

My biggest concern is indoor lighting once the seeds have germinated. I don't expect to need more than a single row of lighting 4' long. I will only have a few planting trays. Most people recommend having a seeding rack with several shelves, which for my needs would be wasted space.

Does anyone have some suggestions for a simple setup to handle the indoor lighting for my situation?
I don't have an answer to your question, but the hummingbirds love the salvia I have been planting in my back yard. They are so fun to watch! I can't wait for gardening time.
 
Does anyone have some suggestions for a simple setup to handle the indoor lighting for my situation?

I once made a really simple rack to hang a fluorescent / grow light from. I could easily adjust the light up/down as the seedlings grew. Here is what I did...

I used 2x6, but 2x4 should be fine also. Measure the length of the light. (A cheap light option would be a 4ft shop light.) Add 3-4 inches. Cut a board this length. Then cut 2 additional boards however tall you want your light rack to be. Screw those together, so you have something that looks like this:
_______________
|.........................|

You just need it wide enough for the light to fit between the 2 vertical boards, and tall enough for both the hanging light and the salvia at it's full height before transplanting outside.

I then cut some "feet" for each side. They were maybe 12in x 12in, and I screwed the 2 vertical boards into those. I think I used MDF because I had it, but plywood would be fine also. Mine was stable enough, but for more stability you could run plywood all the way across the bottom - you would end up with a 4-sided box rather than the 3-sided one pictured above. That would also provide a "shelf" on bottom to put your seed trays on, keeping them off the floor - which depending on where you put it might be nice.

I then screwed 2 eye-bolt hooks into the bottom side of the top board, and used a small chain to hang the light. I could adjust the chain height. I started with it right on top of the seeds, and would raise it as they grew.

It wasn't necessary, but I painted it gloss white. It looked nice enough to be in the kitchen near the big windows we have there, and not stand out like it was an unfinished construction project.
 
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This is probably nothing, but be aware that there is a subspecies of Salvia, called salvia divinorum, that is illegal in some states, including Texas. Do you know the source of the seeds you have?

Salvia divinorum (Latin: sage of the diviners; also called ska maría pastora, seer's sage, yerba de la pastora, magic mint or simply salvia) is a species of plant in the sage genus Salvia, known for its transient psychoactive properties when its leaves, or extracts made from the leaves, are administered by smoking, chewing, or drinking (as a tea).[3] The leaves contain the potent compound salvinorin A and can induce a dissociative state and hallucinations.
 
I no longer have mine or I would have just posted a pic. But I just googled and found something similar - this one made out of PVC:
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I have had good luck with natural light in my arizona room in Arizona. i grow only hardy CA and native Chihuahuan Desert sages.
 
This is probably nothing, but be aware that there is a subspecies of Salvia, called salvia divinorum, that is illegal in some states, including Texas. Do you know the source of the seeds you have?

The Salvia in question is Summer Jewel Salvia, which is part of Salvia coccinea. It is native to parts of Texas, including ours in Central Texas, and it is listed on the Native Plant Society of Texas. The seeds were purchased from Park Seed.

I think the main reason they aren't sold at our local nurseries is the Summer Jewel series isn't the flashiest of flowering plants. But it is one of the best pollinator attracting perennials/annuals around, hence my desire to grow it.
 
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I have had good luck with natural light in my arizona room in Arizona. i grow only hardy CA and native Chihuahuan Desert sages.

I gave that idea some consideration, but we don't get enough sun through the windows of our house, even the SSE facing windows. The advantage of an Arizona room is the potential of getting sun from multiple directions during the day.

I no longer have mine or I would have just posted a pic. But I just googled and found something similar - this one made out of PVC:

I think I've seen something similar online here. That may be the way I go, and if I don't glue the whole stand together, I can break it down for storage while not in use for 9.5-10 months of the year.
 
A cheap light option would be a 4ft shop light.

Given my limited need for lighting, I figured I would go with a 4ft shop light. A tube-style grow light would probably be better, but you generally have to buy them in packs of 4 to 6 on Amazon. I think the recommendation for the tube-style grow lights is to use two or three lights per shelf that is 18-20" deep. For a single row of 1020 seed starting trays or equivalent, two would be best, but one could work.
 
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I've started vegetable seeds in the basement for many years under 4' shop lights using a PVC stand I made. You need to be able to raise or lower the lights using jack chain, the key is keeping the tubes 1-2" above the plants, no more and no less. No special lights just the cheapest 2 tube fixture with the least expensive lights.

Hot peppers are finicky so to show how well this works, I had several hot peppers that I started from seed in late September to test germination. I didn't have the heart to toss them but they were growing well (hot peppers grow very slowly) and in early November it was too cold in the basement. I dragged the grow light stand I made up into the kitchen where it would be really warm all winter due to my wood stove. The plants thrived all winter much to my surprise with no natural light and a dose of liquid fertilizer every 4 weeks when the leaves would start to yellow. I put those peppers out in the garden when they were about 8" tall and had a huge head start on the short season here. So growing under UV lights works, just time when to start seeds based upon when you can put them out cuz tall plants won't do well as the upper foliage will shade the lower. 16 to 18" tomato plants were the max size that were reasonable.
 
Update: I opted for some LED 4ft T8 grow lights that arrived this afternoon. I have two of them on a shelf where I placed the trays with the Salvia. Whereas LED shop lights need to be placed 1-2" from the containers or seedlings if the seeds have germinated, the T8 grow lights can be a bit further away.

Good news: Most resources indicate that Salvias tend to need 7-14 days for germination. I had the seeds indoors where it was around 70° in the utility room, and I wasn't using any heating mats. I was figuring on 10-14 days. Nope! the seeds germinated in 4-5 days.

Not so good news: For the past 3 days, the seedlings have been trying to grow with very little suitable light. As such, they have grown leggy and thin, some over 1" long. While I did get the trays under the grow lights 4 hours ago, I wonder if I have ruined these seedlings by not having suitable light once the seeds had germinated.

I would be curious from the experienced gardeners here whether these seedlings will improve under the grow lights, or if the damage has been done to the seedlings and I should sow a fresh batch of seeds.
 
In Arizona I grow natives to the Southwest, CA, and Mexico. I find S.greggii, and S.microphylla to be tough little buggers. But your germination time is good,I might try again. david
 
But your germination time is good,I might try again. david

I went ahead and ordered a packet of seeds for the two varieties of Salvia I am wanting to grow.

As a first time indoor seeding project, I purchased some dome kits from Amazon that have individual cell containers in each tray (12 cell per tray X 6 trays). When the seeds arrive, I can consolidate six trays easily down to four by moving the individual cell containers around with the best seedlings.

With two 12-cell trays freed up, I will sow the new seeds. This will allow me to continue with the initial seedlings that got leggy as a learning experience, while sowing a fresh batch knowing I now have the proper indoor lighting for them in place.
 
I went ahead and ordered a packet of seeds for the two varieties of Salvia I am wanting to grow.

As a first time indoor seeding project, I purchased some dome kits from Amazon that have individual cell containers in each tray (12 cell per tray X 6 trays). When the seeds arrive, I can consolidate six trays easily down to four by moving the individual cell containers around with the best seedlings.

With two 12-cell trays freed up, I will sow the new seeds. This will allow me to continue with the initial seedlings that got leggy as a learning experience, while sowing a fresh batch knowing I now have the proper indoor lighting for them in place.

I sowed the new seeds on Jan 25th. The first signs of germination occurred on Jan 29th. They were immediately placed under the grow lights. Nearly every one of the 50 seeds have now germinated and broken the soil. The cotyledons are all green and near the top of the soil. No stretching or leggy growth. I'm glad I decided to order the additional seeds.

I had initially consolidated six 12-cell trays with the older seeds down to four when I planted the new seeds. With the new seeds germinating properly without any stretching, I consolidated the four trays with the older seeds down to two, keeping the best. Most of the ones I kept are still a bit leggy, but the ones I tossed were either very stretched, growing sideways or flopped over, and/or had curving to their stems.
 
Those hummers and pollinators sure love Salvia Greggii.

Other central tx plants that attract pollinators - indigo spires, purple coneflower, bee balm, Mexican bush sage. I had great luck with those.
 
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Our favorite is Mystic Spires Blue Salvia, which has Indigo Spires as part of its parenting. Very pollinator friendly, and a Texas Superstar perennial. I see more bumblebees on the Mystics than anything else.
 
We have a mostly native plants pollinator garden down here in the Rio Grande Valley. Mostly for butterflies but also bees and other insects, hummingbirds and other birds. We’ve recorded 155 different species of butterfly visiting our small garden. You can’t touch those numbers in the rest of the US. Of course it’s because we’re subtropical and right next to Mexico.
 
Ms G doesn't think that there are sages that aren't red. I like S.clevelandii for it's blue color and fragrance. S. leucantha for foliage and blue color. S. darcyi for a tropical look in the high desert. I let sages go wild and watch for a little cross pollination.

My property is the best place on the east slope of the Chiricahuas to see summer long Lucifer hummingbirds. david
 
You can get an Aerogarden. They are great for germinating seeds.
I used to sell Aerogarden units, but never bought one for myself.

I recently saw news the company was closing, so parts are likely to become hard to find.

Before I saw the OP bought some bulbs from Amazon, I was going to suggest seeing if there are any local stores supporting hydroponics. Those have become easier to find in many areas.

Kind regards,
Chris
 
Aerogarden changed its minds about closing and will restarting fulfillment only through Amazon only. I have about $5K worth of Aerogarden which was my COVID pandemic hobby. I lost interest after restrictions got lifted.
 
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