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Cosmos seedling have been devoured
Will England
Posts: 2
I sowed over a 100 cosmos cosmic yellow seeds and they where doing fantastic, most had germinated and where and first leaves had opened. However checked on them this morning and the tops on every single one of them have disappeared! Nothing but a small piece of stem left sticking out of the soil. Some of which had been completely pulled out of the soil! No signs of any slugs or snails in the way of slime trails. And as they are up on a wooden bench in a large Polytunnel I don't think it could have been a rabbit. Please help! What could it be? Only thing I found nearby was a shield bug
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Also I should mention, all other seedlings in the tunnel are completely untouched and fine!
Don't know what's happened. but on a positive note, cosmos germinate and grow very quickly so you should be able to catch up.
Mice, without a shadow of doubt. They did the same thing to my tomato seedlings a couple of years ago.
aym 280
I have a pale yellow cosmos seeds to sow yet as late start in N East have to wait till last week in May to plant out but have been caught out with a late frost even than
They are a bipinnatus new but already have a gold medal so should be good and only 24 inch tall and early flowering
Cosmos sulphureus?
Try C sulphureus 'Polidor' , really orange, the bees and I love it
In the sticks near Peterborough
Aym has already put them in 7" pots! Don't think she can pot on any more.
I agree with Bob that its mice that are the culprits -slugs would have eaten the lot, not just nipped the tops off.
I have mice in my GH - too many to get rid of - so i put vulnerable seedlings on trays balanced on tall pots so there is an overhang. Its the same principle as saddlestones on old barns. Mice can climb, but they can't hang upside down