RAMBO salvia Cultural Information

Plug production
Sowing/Media: Use a well-drained, disease-free, peat-based plug medium with a pH of 5.5 – 5.8 and EC <0.75 mmhos (saturated paste). Cover seed with coarse vermiculite after sowing.
Germination (Stages 1 and 2): Keep medium uniformly moist, but not wet! Too much moisture when using vermiculite covering will reduce germination. Soil temperature should be 72 – 75 F. Light is not needed for germination, but keep levels <1500 footcandles. Watch out for mice eating seed! Germination time is 5 – 7 days.
Stage 3: Soil temperature should be 68 – 72 F. Use a good wet/dry moisture cycle, but avoid wilt. Light levels should be around 3000 footcandles. Feed every other watering with 100 – 150 ppm N from 15-5-15, 17-5-17, or 13-2-13, but rinse off feed to avoid burning young growing tips. Keep media pH 5.5 – 5.8 and media EC 1.0 – 1.5 mmhos (saturated paste).
Stage 4: Soil temperature can be lowered to 62 – 65 F. Maintain light levels around 3000 footcandles, use a wet/dry moisture cycle with lower humidity to control stretch, and feed mainly with 13-2-13 as needed.
Plant Growth Regulators: Use sprays of B-Nine (1000 – 2500 ppm), A-Rest (2 – 7 ppm), Bonzi (2 – 10 ppm), or Sumagic (1 – 5 ppm) as needed. An early sprench of A-Rest, Bonzi, or Sumagic before all cotyledons have opened will help control early stretch. Do your own trials to avoid overdosing, as vigor of varieties, weather conditions, and cultural practices directly affect how much growth regulators to use.
Crop Time: 5 – 6 weeks for 512 plugs, 6 – 7 weeks for 288 plugs, depending on temperature and light levels.
Common Problems: Botrytis, wilting, mice, tip burn – not rinsing off feed or boron deficiency, loss of roots and leaf burn – high salts.

Growing on to finish
Container Size: Cell packs to 4-inch pots
Media: Transplant into a well-drained, disease-free, peat-based growing mix with pH of 5.5 – 5.8 and EC <1.5 mmhos (saturated paste).
Temperatures: Keep soil temperature 65 – 68 F for rooting out, then lower to 62 – 65 F for growing on.
Light: Keep light levels 3000 – 5000 footcandles. Low light levels and baskets growing over crop will make plants stretch more.
Irrigation and Fertilization: Practice a good wet/dry moisture cycle, but avoid wilting. Feed 1 – 2x/week with 150 ppm N from 15-5-15 or 17-5-17. Keep media pH 5.5 – 5.8 and media EC 1.0 – 2.0 mmhos (saturated paste).
Plant Growth Regulators: Use sprays of B-Nine (1500 – 5000 ppm), A-Rest (5 – 10 ppm), Bonzi (10 – 30 ppm), or Sumagic (5 – 15 ppm) as needed. When plants are up to size and starting to flower, use a drench of Bonzi (2 – 5 ppm) or Sumagic (1/2 – 2 ppm) to control height without delaying flowering. Do your own trials to avoid overdosing, as vigor of varieties, weather conditions, and cultural practices directly affect how much growth regulators to use.
Common Problems: Botrytis, whiteflies, thrips, leafminers, lower yellow leaves – lack of feeding or shading, tip abortion – boron deficiency/high media pH.
Crop Time: 4 – 6 weeks, depending on plug and container size, temperature, and light levels.