Sapling Dash update! Today in #saplingdash … We had anot...
Sapling Dash update!
Today in #saplingdash …
We had another casualty this week! Our #BlueJacaranda captain bit the dust suddenly… after some investigation of the roots of all our contestants, and former ones. The burlap pots that are so cute are the culprit I think. They do not drain as well as i previously thought! The roots on the dead ones were much smaller than the roots of the smaller ones in the paper pots! I’ve also read about damping off, and had concerns that some of the old media I used might be an issue….. so EVERYONE got repotted in new pots and new media. And I started a new round of germination!
Everyone survived the process and is looking great!
Pic 1: our team captains
#pigeonpea in green
#BlackLocust in white #CrapeMyrtle in pink
#BlueJacaranda in blue
Pic 2: our backup teams
Pic 3: blue jacaranda we hardly knew ye
Pic 4: new germination setup! I’m hoping we get some more crape Myrtle sprouts! Or at least a one royal poinciana which we have yet to see 😅🤞
Our current count of decent sprouts is
Pigeon pea: 5
Black locust: 5
Blue jacaranda:4
Crape Myrtle:1
Royal poinciana:0
Which way will this go! Do you have any advice? Place any bets? Anything can happen in …. The #saplingdash🏅🎉🎊
#HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantShelfie #greggang
Today in #saplingdash …
We had another casualty this week! Our #BlueJacaranda captain bit the dust suddenly… after some investigation of the roots of all our contestants, and former ones. The burlap pots that are so cute are the culprit I think. They do not drain as well as i previously thought! The roots on the dead ones were much smaller than the roots of the smaller ones in the paper pots! I’ve also read about damping off, and had concerns that some of the old media I used might be an issue….. so EVERYONE got repotted in new pots and new media. And I started a new round of germination!
Everyone survived the process and is looking great!
Pic 1: our team captains
#pigeonpea in green
#BlackLocust in white #CrapeMyrtle in pink
#BlueJacaranda in blue
Pic 2: our backup teams
Pic 3: blue jacaranda we hardly knew ye
Pic 4: new germination setup! I’m hoping we get some more crape Myrtle sprouts! Or at least a one royal poinciana which we have yet to see 😅🤞
Our current count of decent sprouts is
Pigeon pea: 5
Black locust: 5
Blue jacaranda:4
Crape Myrtle:1
Royal poinciana:0
Which way will this go! Do you have any advice? Place any bets? Anything can happen in …. The #saplingdash🏅🎉🎊
#HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantShelfie #greggang
5
If I may offer a suggestion on pot size...when starting seeds from germination, the smaller the pot the better. Looking at some of these, the likely culprit leading to your causalities was overwatering due to the pot being too large (the larger the pot, the more soil surrounding the roots). What happens after you water, the tiny roots can only absorb what they need, then they're left sitting in a bunch of excess soil. I'd recommend starting off with little 2" pots, or better yet seed starting trays. With the trays, each segment is perfectly sized for germinating seeds. They also make it very easy to transplant to larger pots later on, you just push up from the bottom and they pop right out, so there's minimal disruption of the roots ☺️
@SoothingCacto90 man I hope your pigeon pea and black locust make it. I would love to see adult versions of those plants, and sorry to hear about your jacaranda but good job on learning from it the more to look forward to from the #saplingdash
Always good to see updates from you 🌱
Always good to see updates from you 🌱
I agree with @stephonicle the large pot size could be leading to rot from overwatering, that and maybe you could use those decorative pots but with clear plastic pots inside leading to better aeration.
Thanks for the advice @GardenCat43 and @stephonicle 💕
I’m adjusting my methods as I go along, and trying to learn from it. The problem with the burlap pots was they were lined with plastic, and have one small drainage hole, and I tested it with new substrate and it was not fully draining! So it could have been both. That’s partly why I have the backups in the 2 inch starter pots. I like seeing the difference, any everything I’ve read says that they should go into 4” pots once they start getting their true leaves so that their taproots? Can grow deep, but it didn’t sound right to me either! I have the new seedlings in those starter pods of peat moss, and in a humidity try, and then I’ll pop the whole thing into 2 inch starter pots when they sprout! (Like @gardencat said maybe I’ll get some clear orchid pots for those ones for the aeration) That’s the current plan anyway! Thanks for following along haha I’m doing my best! My windows are finally getting direct sun and spring is coming so I think they are gonna take off any day now! Whatever comes next I’m glad to have a place to document it, in a fun way lol.
I’m adjusting my methods as I go along, and trying to learn from it. The problem with the burlap pots was they were lined with plastic, and have one small drainage hole, and I tested it with new substrate and it was not fully draining! So it could have been both. That’s partly why I have the backups in the 2 inch starter pots. I like seeing the difference, any everything I’ve read says that they should go into 4” pots once they start getting their true leaves so that their taproots? Can grow deep, but it didn’t sound right to me either! I have the new seedlings in those starter pods of peat moss, and in a humidity try, and then I’ll pop the whole thing into 2 inch starter pots when they sprout! (Like @gardencat said maybe I’ll get some clear orchid pots for those ones for the aeration) That’s the current plan anyway! Thanks for following along haha I’m doing my best! My windows are finally getting direct sun and spring is coming so I think they are gonna take off any day now! Whatever comes next I’m glad to have a place to document it, in a fun way lol.