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Bachelors button, Calendula and Carnation seeds

13 years ago

Hello,

I wanted help with growing these seeds. It will be 2 weeks for these seeds now since I sowed them indoor. Most of them have sprouted and showing 2 set of leaves. Bachelors button have grown 2-3 inches now but no other leaves coming up since 5-6 days now. What next happens to these seedlings and when does it happen?
Would those show more leaves from the stem which is growing so long now.. ? I am just misting them everyday when I see the soil is dry. and they are getting enough light whole day(kept them in south side window) but no direct sun.

Thank you for any help!!

Comments (8)

  • 13 years ago

    Would those show more leaves from the stem which is growing so long now.. ?

    ==>>> extreme elongation of stems.. is a sign of not enough light ... or not enough USABLE light

    w/o a picture.. i dont know if that is the case with yours ...

    i am surprised.. in z9 ... that they need to be in the house at all .... but for a once in a new moon night temp fall ... but AZ may as well be the moon in terms of my experience ...

    have you considered the garage???? wherein you could open the door during the day for better light ... yet protect the babes until cold potential leaves ... in late spring.. i used to put my seedlings on a wagon.. and every morning they went out.. and every night.. they went back in the garage ...

    good luck .. sounds like you are having fun ...

    ken

    ps: i presume you have heavy filtration windows in your area.. so though you might think it is usable sunlight .. your babes may not ...

  • 13 years ago

    Agree. "no direct sun" is the opposite of what these plants need, which is a TON of sun.

  • 13 years ago

    they are getting enough light whole day

    ===>>> one other thought.. this time of year in the northern hemisphere... a 'whole' day ... is a lot less hours than a whole day in mid summer ...

    so not only are you deficient in light intensity.. you MIGHT be so also with length or day ...

    but we are still struggling since we are speculating on your words alone ... that they are getting leggy

    ken

  • 13 years ago

    Thank you so much for your inputs.. I am so new to this.. Being in Phoenix.. we are having upper 70 and 80 in day time and nights are cooler arnd upper 40s and 50s.. do I just grow them outside in my flower bed. I have pansies and snapdragon there right now which I got from lowes.
    I am attaching the pics for all the 3 flower seedlings(one in this post, rest i'll add in other posts only able to add only 1 pic). I kept them outside now in sun when you guys mentioned :) Carnations are still small. Also, do you think I should thin them as well by cutting few seedlings .. there are lots coming in one section now. or do I wait to get next set of leaves.
    Also, Would these bachelors button improve now if I give then full sun daily or there's no point now and I should re-seed them maybe in flower bed itself.

  • 13 years ago

    Also, these Calendula have seeds on top of the leaves and not coming out only. Would they drop by themselves?

  • 13 years ago

    Carnations in this pic.

  • 13 years ago

    Before planting outside this time of year, it's necessary to know if each plant is perennial, which I don't offhand, especially bachelor button which could refer to several different sun-loving plants. If not perennial, are they able to handle frosts? In zone 9, you'll have a few frosts. Some plants grow better when it's cool, some when it's hot.

    By researching these things, you should be able to determine whether they are OK to plant/put outside now, or if the seeds would be better started outside in the spring.

    You had great success with them sprouting! In general, they look like they're leaning toward the light. I just planted pansies and snaps for winter too, they should do well until it gets too hot. Pansies probably won't live through summer, can't take heat or dryness. Snaps should stay alive if they don't bake too badly, seem to handle drying out much better than a lot of other plants, bloom almost constantly.

  • 13 years ago

    Batchelor button and calendula could have been start outside now or in very late fall. They are both plants that need a lower temperature to germinate. In my zone 3 garden they drop their own seeds and come up early in my flower beds. Both are frost tolerant once sprouted and will survive the occasional frost. I would harden these seedlings off for a couple of weeks and then plant them outside.First I'd get them into individual pots and keep them inside for a week. Then start by putting them in a shady spot and gradually moving them into the sun.

    Carnations are a different story. They will not tolerate frost at all so I'd keep them under lights until danger of frost is past.