Nerine seedlings
totototo@telus.net (Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:27:18 PST)
On 28 Jan 07, at 14:44, Stephen Putman wrote:
I sowed some of those Nerine seeds from a recent seed distribution.
They have germinated nicely and are coming along. I normally start
all my seeds in single serving Yogurt cups from the various
manufacturers therof. I drill several 3/16" holes in their (the cups)
bottoms, and have had good success for many years. The Nerine
seedlings have sent some roots through the holes in the bottom of the
cups - much sooner than any other seedlings I've started. So, leave
them be, and some roots will be snaking around in the saucer which the
pots sit in, and will ineveitable be lost when I pot these seedlings
on to larger containers. Or,..pot them up now, with root disturbance
to very young seedlings, but with subsequent long roots not being
lost?
What do you all think?
Pot them on now. Use a pair of scissors to *carefully* cut away the
yogurt cups; there're millions more where they came from.
And keep an eye on them: they may need fairly regular potting on as
the roots grow.
It is my understanding that monocot roots do not branch if the
growing tip is injured, unlike dicots. Injure a monocot root and the
damage can only be made good by an altogether new root growing from
the basal plate (or equivalent organ) -- and that may not happen
until next growing season. Hence the need to be much more careful
with monocot seedlings, to handle them much more gently.
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island