einahpets
Just Arrived
Joined: 09 Apr 2008
Location: Norco
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:52 pm Post subject: Seedlings dying off |
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Help! I've never had this problem before when starting from seed, but it seems that this year every seed I plant is either not coming up at all, or sprouting and wilting very quickly. I don't know if it's perhaps from too much sun or what. I don't have a window to put them in, so I sit the cups out in the morning sun for about an hour. Could that be it? or is it lack of nutrients (I've always been told not to fertilize seedlings.)...
Can someone help me save my dear little Morning Glories? 
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Biita
Arctic-ally Challenged Forager
Joined: 31 Oct 2007
Location: Norway (Map)
Posts: 1954
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:20 pm Post subject: |
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Well Einaphants, I don't know the weather conditions there. but seedlings are very delicate until they at least establish a second set of leaves. I start mine on a heat source, and once they look like they will be getting their second set of leaves then i move them to just a sunny window. since you don't have a sunny window, any window would do as long as you give them some light also, like a few hours in the evenings. but maybe the in-out, in-out is still too cold for them or to extreme still. They need more than just an hour of light. so turn on a few lights to help them along.
I never fertalize until i transplant to a bigger pot, and even then its not right away, i let them get established.
another thought, are you watering them to much, and then they are getting cold from the outdoors,,, could be a problem there.
but have no fear, i'm sure someone will come along and walk you right thru it and help you out fast.
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cajunbelle
Daylily Diva
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
Location: zone 8b Louisiana (Map)
Posts: 3325
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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einahpets, where is Norco? If we knew your weather conditions it would help us greatly.
Some things to remember about Morning Glories. They do not like a lot of fertilizer. If your last expected frost date has passed you can sow the seeds directly into the ground. I usually soak mine overnight in tepid water, then I put them in a baggie between layers of damp paper towels and place them on the fridge. When they sprout, just put them directly in the ground. Hope this helps.
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Sharon
Phil. 4:13
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einahpets
Just Arrived
Joined: 09 Apr 2008
Location: Norco
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:35 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for your reply Biita. Well, the weather has been pretty darned crazy here the last couple of months. Unseasonably hot for two weeks, then very cold the next week. My first try were with tomato and pepper seeds... they came up alright until my stepdaughter drowned the little things and then the cat pulled each of them out when I took the pots in that night!  My second try isn't turning out well at all and I just wonder if I should try a different method of starting the seeds..
The only room in the house I can think of putting them is the laundry room/office which has a HUGE window facing the south, BUT the room is under construction and has no insulation or climate control.
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petunia
Highly Skillful
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: northern michigan
Posts: 2213
PlantStew: 286 |
| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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einahpets: for starting new seedling-you could always give this a try. I've had success with tomatoes this way.
http://www.gardenstew.com/about9612.html
This is the first time I have tried this but I have many flowers & vege's coming up. Some come up quicker this way then what the pkg says. Good luck.
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Petunia
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cromba
Just Arrived
Joined: 25 Mar 2008
Location: Ozark Mountains
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject: Possible Answer |
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Take a close look at your plants. Then blow a little air across the pot surfaces. If you see any tiny black "flys" you might have fungus gnats. These are hard to get rid of because when you see one, they could have already laid 100 eggs or more. It is the larvae from the eggs that attacks the roots of the plants and they start wilting and dying off. If this is the problem, try getting them outside as much as possible. The wind will blow the little flying critters away and nature usually takes care of the rest. If they are too far gone, you'll have to start over. Get fresh potting soil and don't reuse the soil they were in. The eggs can lie dormant in the soil for a very long time...so just dump it outside where natural predators can clean it up. Hope this helps!
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olive_green
Just Arrived
Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:09 am Post subject: |
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Maybe it does have something to do with the weather and environment you have.  Maybe you have to re-choose the flowers you have to plant depending on the weather you have at your place.
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newyorkgardener
On The Way Up
Joined: 20 Mar 2008
Location: Hornell, NY
Posts: 76
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| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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I second Petunia's suggestion I have such great luck with my seeds that way... 
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"The fair-weather gardener, who will do nothing except when the wind and weather and everything else are favorable, is never master of his craft."-- Henry Ellacombe
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einahpets
Just Arrived
Joined: 09 Apr 2008
Location: Norco
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:49 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you all for the thoughts Actually, Biita did hit it right on the head; it was the constant temperature change. I keep them inside now, shifting them between two windows as the sun moves. There was one wilting, but now she's turning bright green again and standing on her own! And the other ones are starting to pop up.
Petunia + NYG: I think I will try that idea!
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