First time seed grower

tmq

Hi, I've tried planting a bunch of seeds for the first time....all sorts of things, lupins, nasturtiums, black eyed Susan, etc..

A couple of them are coming up already, after only about 9 days....the first photo below are aubrieta, and the second is mallow.

I'm worried they are looking very stringy and thin... Is this normal? I have them in plastic containers in a window. And where there is seedlings growing close together should I pull one out so they don't compete?

It's fun so far, but I'm not sure what I'm doing really!

Reckless Abandonment

Was going to ask a similar question . Most of my seeds germinate but die off shortly after. Any ideas why?

Astilbe

tmq- well done on getting your seeds to germinate! You should thin your seedlings soon, just carefully remove the weaker looking ones. As the pictured seedlings have just emerged you should probably wait another week to see how they develop.

Some of the plants you mention can be sown outdoors with no propagation needed such as nasturtiums.

In the meantime make sure your little seedlings are getting enough warmth and light and only water them lightly (maybe with a spray bottle)- try not to drown them!

Reckless Abandonment- when you say that they die off shortly afterwards, what stage do the seedlings reach? Do they get to the stage that tmq's are at or older? Did you keep them in sunshine and watered? Did you sow them at the correct time of year according to the seed packet?

macraignil

tmq wrote: »

Hi, I've tried planting a bunch of seeds for the first time....all sorts of things, lupins, nasturtiums, black eyed Susan, etc..

A couple of them are coming up already, after only about 9 days....the first photo below are aubrieta, and the second is mallow.

I'm worried they are looking very stringy and thin... Is this normal? I have them in plastic containers in a window. And where there is seedlings growing close together should I pull one out so they don't compete?

It's fun so far, but I'm not sure what I'm doing really!

The seedlings do look to be stretching a bit thin so they might benefit from a bit more light. It looks in the photo like they are covered over by transparent plastic. As they mature they will need to be gradually adjusted to more exposed growth. Plant stems grow stronger when they grow with exposure to some air movement, but putting the plants straight out into a gale force wind would not be helpful. As they get bigger you might give them some of the day growing out in the open and still give them some protection in the night and when the weather is bad. Over time they can be acclimatised to the outdoors rather than shocking them by a sudden change. I found the aubrieta I planted out was attacked by slugs so be careful where you put them.

Usually seedlings can be transplanted carefully once they have their first set of proper leaves. (These are different than the cotyledons that open first.) I have read many times about removing the weaker seedlings to give more space for plants to develop, but very often I prefer to just separate out the seedlings to individual containers. I might be being a bit sentimental as its probably faster to just kill the weaker ones. They are very delicate when they are small but I have no shortage of containers. I would give them another few weeks before potting them on but if you leave them together too long the roots will get noted and it might be impossible to separate them without serious damage then.

tmq

Update.... The nasturtiums have gone crazy, some are about 4 inches already, and are on a fair old lean towards the window. Should I replant them soon? They have only been down about three weeks.

The second photo is the aubrieta (I think...I might have mixed them up with the mallow). They are small, and all lying down. Doesn't look promising! I've taken them out if the plastic but they are still inside in the house window.

Thanks for the help!

macraignil

The nasturtium look to be in good size pots to leave them grow a bit bigger in.

Technophobe

turn the pots or the container they are in around each day so they get even light..that way they wont stretch one way continously