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Zyx's avatar

How do I keep this Salvia Divinorum alive?

Asked by Zyx (4170points) December 5th, 2011

I got a plant from my buddy for my birthday since we like to experiment. It get’s pretty cold here at night and at one point there were lice on the leaves. The plant did fine for about a week but when I woke up this morning most of the leaves were hanging as if they had died. The soil should still be pretty rich and I’ve been watering it about 3 days apart.

Decided to take a picture:
http://storenow.net/my/?f=3499

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20 Answers

marinelife's avatar

It sounds as if you are overwatering. Try letting it sry out in between. Water only once or twice a week.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

Did you mean ice or lice?

mazingerz88's avatar

Yes, you are overwatering. 3 days is just too much, imo. I have a friend who waters only once a week and has kept her plants alive for years and years indoors.

Zyx's avatar

I doubt the problem is too much water since the soil was quite dry this morning (before I watered it) and there are holes in the bottom of the plastic pot through which the water can escape… by watering them 3 days apart I mean to say I splash the soil just enough to get it moist, I don’t drench it. Could the symptoms be similar ifI haven’t been watering enough?

EDIT: I definately mean lice.

CWOTUS's avatar

Whoa. The things I learn via Fluther.

I never knew that there existed a more-or-less legal psychoactive plant in the US (it’s not legal in every state, so be careful).

Despite your belief that the plant isn’t overwatered because of your mode of watering, that’s still my presumption. Overwatering kills far more houseplants than underwatering.

It also won’t want much direct sunlight. The Wikipedia article on it says that it prefers “shady and moist” (but I still wouldn’t want to keep the roots wet).

mazingerz88's avatar

I don’t know about those leaves; sure doesn’t look encouraging. But again, yes, you are definitely over watering. Killed plants myself with that exact line of thinking. Enough water gets retain within the soil for the roots to absorb and therefore survive, even if 98% of the water goes straight through the bottom.

If your plant recovers, don’t water it again unless the leaves show signs of serious drooping. Goodluck!

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

Describe the lice.

Zyx's avatar

It’s been a week since I’ve seen one so I’m guessing the lice are gone (my friend told me he tried to get rid of them). It was probably just aphids…

mazingerz88's avatar

@Adirondackwannabe May I? It used to be speaker of the House and now its running for President. Ohh boy…here comes the Mod.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

@mazingerz88 Really? In general? The Newts will be all over your butt.
@Zyx It could be insect damage that’s doing that. Have you tried any treatment?

marinelife's avatar

YOU ARE OVERWATERING!

Zyx's avatar

Well, I watered it before I even posted this question and now it seems to have perked up a bit. Sure am glad I do whatever I like. Thanks for all your suggestions! (not sarcasm, sarcasm doesn’t work online. People who use sarcasm online are jerks)

mazingerz88's avatar

@Zyx Sorry you detected sarcasm but it’s more like panicking to me. Lol. : )

Zyx's avatar

@mazingerz88 well clearly there’s some sort of misunderstanding here because I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I suspected my exclamation of “Thanks for all your suggestions!” might seem sarcastic as the exact opposite turned out to be the answer. So I added (that people who use sarcasm online are jerks, so I don’t use sarcasm online. Thus my statement expressing gratitude for your suggestions was not meant sarcastically)

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

@Zyx Do you ever feel the weight of the pot to see if it’s heavy (overwatered) or light (dry)?

mazingerz88's avatar

@Zyx Lol. Clear misunderstanding for sure. I thought you detected sarcasm in one of the replies. I checked and found none.

Zyx's avatar

@Adirondackwannabe Yeah, but I find it hard to tell what’s normal.

Adirondackwannabe's avatar

@Zyx If you want to be safe always lean towards light for the weight.

mazingerz88's avatar

@Zyx Maybe this could be of interest to you, a way for your plant to Tweet you a message every time it needs watering.

Zyx's avatar

@mazingerz88 Very cool. I might consider using something like that once I start growing delicious weed. (which is legal here as long as you only have one or two plants)

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