SALVIA DIVINORUM W&H STRAIN

Back in stock now after many requests!

Salvia divinorum is a psychoactive plant which can induce visions and other hallucinatory experiences.

 Its native habitat is in cloud forest of Oaxaca, Mexico, where it grows in shady and moist locations.

Salvia divinorum rarely produces seed, and when it does they are nearly always sterile. That is why Salvia divinorum is usually propagated by cuttings.

 Once acclimatized it can live as a normal houseplant, otherwise it needs an humid environment to mimic its natural habitat.

 The W&H strain (named for R. Gordon Wasson and Dr. Albert Hoffman) is said to be the most potent of the known strains. 

It is faster growing than the Blosser strain of Salvia Divinorum although its reputed to be less palatable.

                                       We also have Blosser strain back in stock.

Instructions for growing cacti using your new grow kit.

                                                                                                 

Instructions for growing cacti using your new grow kit.

Pretty much the same as our seed growing article apart from the inclusion of the mini-propagator provided in your kit.

●level down the cactus compost provided into the pot.

●dampen the compost with water.

●sprinkle the seeds evenly over the compost. Do not cover them with soil, they need light to germinate.

●cover with the mini-propagator lid.

●place in non-direct sunlight at 70˚-80˚.

●keep the compost moist, but not wet, by gently spraying with water when needed.

●seeds should germinate within 2 weeks.

●watch out for damping off fungus and spray with fungicide immediately.

●keep the seedlings in indirect sunlight for about 6 months,  then slowly let them have more light. They will have a lush green colour if the light levels are right. If their skin turns  red it means they are getting too much light, so shade with an appropriate material. Muslin or thin white sheeting work well.

●be in no hurry to re-pot them. Wait until they are fighting for room.

Sam Pedro's cactus seed grow kit

INSTRUCTIONS FOR GROWING CACTUS FROM SEED

Instructions for growing cactus from seed.

Mix 3 parts of commercial potting compost with 1 part of grit (not sand) and 1 part of perlite.

Level down into pots or a seed tray.

Soak the compost with water.

Sprinkle the seeds evenly over the compost. Do not cover them with soil, they need light to germinate.

Cover with a propagator lid, sheet of glass or Cling-film.

Place in non-direct sunlight at 70-80 degrees F (21-26C)

Keep the compost moist, but NOT wet, by spraying with water when needed.

Seeds should germinate within 2 weeks.

Watch out for damping off fungus and spray with a suitable fungicide immediately.

Keep the seedlings in indirect sunlight for about 6 months, then slowly let them have more light and less humidity. They will have a lush green colour if the light levels are right. If the epidermis turns red it means they are getting too much light, so shade with an appropriate material. Muslin or thin white cloth works well for us.

Be in no hurry to re-pot them. Wait until they are fighting for room.

                                                                                 Trichocereus macrogonus seedlings

Horned leaves on our maeng-da kraom

Maeng-Da kratom. The legendary 'horned leaves'

Our main tree is about 2 years old now. We used to have another one but it got killed by someone's stupidity......

The horned leaves do not appear all the time. Even then, they only appear with age. 

They are only now starting to show up every now & then.

The leaves also get a really nice 'frilled' look to them. Similarly, not all of them show this trait, thats why it can be tricky in identifying some Kratom strains at this age.

More frilled leaves.

Typically the main tree has really gone into overdrive, pushing out shoots and leaves a go-go, just in time for Winter! It will drop most of its leaves soon and the new shoots will go onto pause mode.

Hopefully the cuttings we have taken already will be rooted in time for winter too.

Ephedra Sinica, joint fir, mormon tea.

                              Ephedra Sinica

                      Ephedra Sinica, joint fir, mormon tea.

They have a very odd way of germinating. 

I planted 50 seeds.

The first signs of life appeared about 10 days after planting and the rest continued to germinate for the next 3 months!

No particular pattern to it, much like Where's Wally?! Every now and then I would look into the pot and find another seed had sprouted.

These are one of the slowest things we grow. Like waiting for continental drift!

The picture above shows some of them at about 10 months old!!

They grow about an inch, then seem to stop, change direction and start on again for another inch.

E.Sinica seems to like dryish compost, with good drainage and lots of direct sun.

Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum)

                             Kanna

                             Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum)

Used by African tribes as a mood-altering substance for thousands of years, this succulent is easy to grow, pretty to look at and a great talking point..The flowers seem to smell sweet/citrus when there are lots of them together, but on their own they are too small to smell.Cuttings are super easy to root, just dip them in rooting powder, put them in damp compost/vermiculite/perlite mix (1:1:1) and keep misted.They will look like they are going to die, they might wilt or go interesting colours but then they pick up and start pushing out new leaves.Ive only had one or two fail out of the many hundreds i have rooted.We always have un-rooted cuttings of Kanna for sale and often have rooted ones too.

Salvia Divinorum, Blosser strain.

                     Salvia divinorum 'Blosser'

             

                             Salvia Divinorum, Blosser strain.

Originally, when i ran the-mush-room,  I  brought this strain into the UK from the USA in 2010.

 As far as I know we were the only company selling Blosser here for quite a while.  Most of the Blosser available now in the UK originated from our mother plant!

Blosser is said to be the 'palettable' strain, although after tasting it I would disagree! Its as bitter as any other.

Much slower growing and slower to root than the Wasson and Hoffmaan strain we also have.

Blosser never used to be that common in the UK or Europe at all, more common in the USA.

Leaves tend to have more of a serrated edge to them and white central veins on the leaves.

The Blosser above has been trimmed to look more like a bush than a standard tall Salvia.