The seeds that germinated and sprouted little leaves, I put in pots and placed them in a west facing window sill. The seeds had germinated in coffee filters placed in ziplock bags. A day after I put them in pots, most of the little sprouts are all dry and almost dead :'( What am I doing wrong? Please help.
Tina, I think it would be better if you planted the seeds as soon as the little root sprouts, before the leaves appear. I think the transition was too harsh on the newly sprouted leaves.
Tina, also when transplanting from coffee filter to soil be very careful not to break the roots off as they can be very delecate at this stage.
That I didn't do for sure, Petunia. I was very careful of that. Do you think it is a good idea to cover the pots with plastic after transplanting? I think that will preserve the moisture?
It is usually good to cover new plants to keep in the moisture. But for me I don't always. right now at the moment I have my new coleus under plastic (just because I have it to do) but then again, I just replanted some small jumping jacks, (now their not under plastic), but doing well so far.
Tina, what kind of seeds did you start? I tried the wet paper towel trick with some rose seeds. All I got was a nasty, moldy paper towel Deanna :-D
Deanna, I started hollyhocks and 4'OClocks. Misting is a good idea. I never misted them - probably the little ones were very dry.
Ahh...what a shame, Tina. I will second Cajunbelle's first posted suggestion; however, if you don't do that and you wait until there is "green" to plant misting is a really good idea. You can also just cover the newly transplanted plant in a clear (or at least white) plastic bag. I would leave it closed for the first day then in the ensuing days, I would leave the top open for ever lengthening periods of time until you can remove it completely. --What I have noticed with this whole way of doing germination is that the shock to those little leaflets is often too much in terms of dryness and temperature change, which is often too dramatic. That is exactly why I plant the germinated seeds in soil as soon as the tiny little worm-like root peeks out of the seed. (seconding CB's second posting). As for misting (which I also sometimes do) --I wouils suggest that you mist them from a distance of at least 12 inches...so that the little plantlets get only a very fine mist upon them. --One thing that I discovered was that if you mist from to close by it can damage or even kill-off those first tender leaves (and consequently the whole plant). It's the same principle that you use when spraying insects on your outside plants--you should never hold the spraying container too close to those plants. Naturally Petunia's remark about taking care not to break roots or stems is of paramount importance. It's something that I have to take particular care with, as my hands are sometimes quite "heavy", if you know what I mean. I have even been known to use forcepts to move them. --DON'T LAUGH! Anyway. Here's hoping that you have better luck with follow-up germinating.
