Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [seedlings]

Small juvenile plants which have just germinated.

Technically, a is a young plant sporophyte that has developed from a plant embryo (which is contained in a seed).

A seedling will have an embryonic root, embryonic shoot and seed leaves. The seed leaves are different than adult leaves, and are usually a lot smaller and often a different shape. Plants are often classified by the number of seed leaves. Angiosperms (flowering plants) have one or two seed leaves. Monocots have only one pointed leaf, and include the grasses. Dicots have two (usually rounded) seed leaves. Gymnosperms can have more variation, for example pine seedlings have 8 seed leaves.

Use this tag for questions about caring for seedlings and any problems encountered. Seedlings are typically very delicate. They are susceptible to damping-off which is fungal mould problem that kills seedlings before any adult leaves can form.

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What are the chances to get an edible apple from a tree grown from seed?

I am growing a few good apple trees in my roof garden, in pots. I love growing the trees, and of course love the fruit. Since I am in a warm climate, I grow appropriate apple cultivars which are professionally grafted and yield beautiful apples.…
Assafs
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How healthy are seedlings sent by mail?

I've never bought seedlings out of seed catalogs, but am sometimes tempted to (especially by the flashy free $20, no obligation seed catalogs). I'm just wondering what the considerations are when ordering seedlings by mail. I worked in a postal…
Peter Turner
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Should I separate and transplant basil seedlings?

I have begun to grow basil for the first time. Basically all I did was open a packet of seeds and throw them into a flower pot that’s about 20cm wide/round. The seeds have germinated and have started to grow into about 1cm high little stems. So now…
Allison
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How do I care for potted apple seedlings over the winter?

On a whim, this spring, I planted several apple seeds in a large pot just to see if they would grow. Two seedlings have come up and are very healthy looking, despite being munched by deer, and the hot, dry summer we had. They are about a foot tall…
shilantra
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Is condensation on my seed tray an issue?

I'm growing some seedlings in a tray that has a plastic lid. The sun causes moisture to condense on the lid. I was wondering: is this counter-productive, as the condensation then blocks the sun?
Dan
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Will my Mango seedling survive after being attacked by my cat?

So, I been growing a Mango plant from seed, which was going quite ok I think. Yesterday my cat found this plant and eaten or whatever the leaves of the seedling, so all of its leaves are now gone, the stem is still intact and not broken or…
Bart
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Are these tiny tomato seedlings going to be too crowded?

My first effort at growing tomatoes was last year when I was given plants ~20cm tall and it went well. This year I'm having another go, but starting from seed. On the grounds that I have no seed trays, etc and don't really know what I'm doing, I…
DMA57361
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How do you water tiny seedlings?

I just germinated some mini sinningia from seed and the seedlings are very small. When I water the soil, the soil mixture just floats on the water because some of them are perlite. The perlite and water crashes into the seedlings and I thought…
lamwaiman1988
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How do I care for grapefruit seedlings?

I got two tiny grapefruit seedlings for free and I don't know how to care for them. They are in very small pots and all the care they are getting is watering. They are 2" tall. I don't live in the right zone for these, and I don't have any idea how…
J. Musser
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Do peat pots slow down the development of seedlings?

To prevent root disturbance when planting out, I usually sow my sweet corn in peat pots which I then put in the propagator. As soon as the seed germinates, I grow the seedlings on for two to three weeks and, once they are reasonably robust and have…
Mancuniensis
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Is there a fast-growing, inexpensive privacy plant that can be started in winter?

I live in a flatshare, in a room on the ground floor (first floor for North Americans). To prevent people from looking into our rooms all the time (there's a parking lot in front), we have outdoor blinds/screens (about 5ft/1.5m high and 15ft/4.5m…
Pekka
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When transplanting seedlings, why shouldn't I put them straight into the ground?

I just started gardening, and I'm getting really into it. I live in an apartment and I've been planting seeds in containers and putting them on my balcony. I read the instructions on the seed packet and some say to "plant in a small container,…
Landon
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Do brassicas like to be transplanted deeper than the previous pot?

I know that tomatoes should be transplanted deeper than they were in the previous pot. When I'm potting up broccoli and cabbage, are they the same way? Can I bury part of the stem when I go from a 6-pack to a pot, or from a pot to the garden? (I'm…
bstpierre
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What's the best way to thin delicate seedlings?

When thinning seedlings (salads, beetroots, spinach etc) I will normally pull out the entire plant (root included) of the discarded seedlings. Like it's a weed. Where my seedlings are densely packed this is nearly impossible to do without…
Tea Drinker
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Questions about soil block usage

I got a catalog from Johnny's seeds the other day and saw their soil block makers. I've been looking into them and I'm thinking about trying them to start my garden plants this year as an experiment. I'll make my own soil block maker to test and may…
Dalton
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