Transplanting seedlings

[kentosaurs]

Hi everyone

Today while i was repotting my N viking to a bigger pot(just slightly bigger) i decided to try out to transplant 2 of my seedlings which is the one which germinated last november from JK...They were only a mere 1-2 cm is size..So just for the experience of it seeing if i can actually make it survive i tried lorr..I used the tweezer or whatever you call it the clip that has 2 hooks at the end..Anyways you get what i mean..So i pulled out 2 seedlings as gently as possible..1 of them only has 1 short strand of root which the bottom is somehow black like a normal neps hav..At first i thought they were rotting or something but then i think of it i realise all neps roots are kinda blackish..So i planted it...The 2nd one i pulled out has 1 strand which at the end has divided so in a way 2 strands...It also has that blackish roots..But the roots nearer to the plant is white and when it goes down lower it turns black..Is it rot or is that just the colour?
I put a cover over it to provided as much humidity as possible...Hope it will survive.

Ken

[shawnintland]

Hi Ken,

It sounds like you did everything perfectly! Don't worry about the roots, they sound like they are normal, healthy roots. It is surprising to me that my young seedlings have such little root structures for as old as some of them are... but then suddenly, (seems like a few months after transplanting) 'something' kicks in and they start to grow vigorous root systems. I have been using pure sphagnum moss for germinating and for the 1" plugs that I transplant them into the first time (out of the germination boxes). Under "my" conditions they seem to stay very wet all the time and perhaps this is why the roots are not stimulated to grow 'deep' and 'fast'. I'm trying out some other less-water-absorbing media just to see how the roots grow.

Good luck. The idea of covering them to help with humidity was a very good idea...be sure to acclimatise them 'slowly', day-by-day over a week or two...not humid one day and fully exposed the next!

[kentosaurs]

Hi Shawn

Ah...the guy with thousands of seedlings Anyways thanks for the info..I might have transplanted them a little too young..Anyways i have about 20+ seedlings more..So i guess trying out on this 2 wouldn't hurt that much..I didn't really tuck the seedlings in...I can still see a little of the top whitish part of ths root on the 2 seedlings..Anyways hope they will survive..

Ken

[funkychips]

Hi Ken,

I establish my cuttings or whatever Neps that have been newly repotted with very little roots in ziplock bags. JUst dust a little rooting hormone at the base and you should do fine.

[edwardyeeks]

Tell you what, if the roots have a whitish tip, then it is VERY healthy. Good luck in growing the neps!

Cheers