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Leggy seedlings

gnoshgnosh Posts: 22
in Plants
My double hollyhock seedlings from seed last year from my outdoor plants are popping up in 3 days . They are indoors with heated propagators and are leggy .
 I took this as not enough light so I purchased full spectrum grow lights and the new batch with the lights have again popped up in 3 days and I can see they are going to be leggy again 😫
I have hundreds of them but I don’t want to waste them . Is there anything I can do to rescue them ? 
I have propagated lupine , not leggy , sweet peas , not leggy,  and rose mallow , so all the rest normal . 
Help please the chaters double hollyhocks are my favourite 🤩 
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited February 2023
    They really don’t need heat once they’ve germinated. 
    I don’t even use heat to germinate them. I sow them in May onwards and keep them in a coldframe. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    It's a common problem with lots of plants as seedlings - too much heat , not enough light.
    Sweet peas can be pinched out if that happens, but I don't know if it works with things like hollyhocks as I don't grow them .
    Perhaps @Lyn or @Dovefromabove will know   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited February 2023
    I’ve not tried pinching out with hollyhocks … I’ve a feeling it wouldn’t work too well as they grow as a rosette in the first year. 
    Has anyone here any experience of doing it?

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    That's what I wondered @Dovefromabove - not really the right sort of plant is it?
    Sowing at the optimum time is the answer. Either Feb/March or later in summer. Your conditions will also dictate which is better. 

    Probably better to sow some more [if you have any] in a month's time approx @gnosh, or later on for the following year.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited February 2023
    gnosh said:
    My double hollyhock seedlings from seed last year from my outdoor plants are popping up in 3 days  
    I have never been very successful with hollyhocks from seed .  Except those that sow themselves.

    Have you tried this before with self-collected seed?  Do they come true as doubles?

     I only grew double hollyhocks once in a wet summer.  The flowers got wet and went all mushy.  Never again.  But then I prefer singles of most plants, except for scent.

    Pinching them out would destroy a lot of the hollyhockness that we grow them for.

    Now,  rust ...
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • gnoshgnosh Posts: 22
    No I haven’t . I had gorgeous double salmons last year , magnificent, which I bought plug size the year before. I collected the seeds from those and also double reds in my daughters garden . The red ones are the leggy ones , the salmon not so much . The seeds from the red are blacker . I’ve no idea what a shop bought seed would look like , I was just giving it a go with what I had .  Saying that I have removed the 3rd tray straight from the heat mat  after they sprouted and it does look like these  are on track as the leaves are same size but around 2 cm tall ( as opposed to 5 ) so fingers crossed 🤞 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    The next question to ask,  have you got hundreds of small pots to pot them into, and then hundreds of bigger pots to pot them on until April or May when you can plant them in the garden. 
    I would pick out all the leggy ones and start a compost heap and try to keep just the best ones. 
    If you have more seeds, I would sow them in March/April without heaters and lights. You’ll get much tougher plants that way. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd agree with @Lyn - hundreds  of seedlings means hundreds of pots and the means to keep them ticking over until the plants can go out.  :)

    I'd do as we've suggested re sowing again later. Much easier, and definitely produces sturdier plants as @Lyn says. That goes for many, many plants  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    It's so tempting to sow seeds this time of year but for many/ most it's best to resist.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • gnoshgnosh Posts: 22
    Thank you , agreed , I’ll stick with my lupins as they are doing well and I think a lot more robust . Only really tried the hollyhocks early as I have new growth around the original and it’s the only thing that’s fully hardy and survived -6 temps this year . Absolutely determined not to buy any plants this year and do it from scratch , I’ve got a lot of learning ahead so I do need the advice  thank you :) 
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