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Where did I go wrong
JudyN
Posts: 119
I grew these snapdragons from seed, & have been hardening them off for a couple of weeks (out in the morning, in at night). I'm on the south coast, so it's been relatively mild.
As you can see, they're not exactly romping away...
That's the good tray... this lot are keeling over & dying:
I can't remember what the compost is, but don't think it was rubbish or old. Should I have kept them indoors till they took off? Trouble is, anything I grow from seeds rarely takes off!
I also have some white gaura plugs. They seem to be doing OK, but aren't putting on a lot of growth:
The cerinthe I grew from seed is getting to be a reasonable size. Time to pot on, or even plant out?
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It might sound a bit odd but the pots are to big at the moment for the snapdragons in my opinion. When you water them they are sat in cold / wet compost for long periods, which has possibly contributed to a fungal disease.
They don't look happy at all do they, Judy. I suspect they don't like the growing medium - try putting some garden soil in a pot or two and transplant some of them into that. If they improve then I'd avoid that particular compost in the future. I would pot-on the cerinthe as it is forecast to be cold for the next couple of weeks so it might be risky to plant out right now.
I am on the South coast, too. The temperatures HAVE been mild but we have had sharp, cold winds blowing and that can make a real difference to young plants. The cerinthe look great and my self seeded ones have survived outside, so no worries there. The gaura seems ok, too. They like to take their time. The snap dragons are distinctly sad. I'd keep them inside for a while yet and perhaps use seed compost next time. Avoid planting out until the threatened cold nights have passed.
I would definitely keep them indoors for quite a few weeks yet. Certainly until they are as big as your cerinthe, if not bigger. They are just little babies. Is it the same compost you used for the other plants?
Thanks everyone
As usual, I'm in too much of a rush to get them outside, and too lazy to pot them on into only slightly bigger pots.
I've worked out what the compost was. It was Miracle Gro Expanding compost - B&Q were out of seed compost but assured me it would be suitable. I do wonder if it got a bit compacted in the pots when it expanded, and then I didn't 'decompact' it enough when transplanting the seedlings from their trays.
I think the cerinthe are in Dorwest Multi-Purpose. Half of the gaura are in the MIracle Gro and half in something else, though seem to be equally happy in each.
I've got another tray of rudbeckias from seed that will need pricking out soon (and a tray of veeeeeeery slow verbena bonarensis). Is it best to prick out into seed compost rather than multi-purpose? If they need potting on after that, can I go to multi-purpose then?
The multi purpose should be ok but don't use the bargain basement stuff. Buy a good make.
Thank you :-)