survival of the fittest? or grow it in a coconut shell ...

Updated photos: Sorry for those terrible original grainy, low light pics!

These have their embryonic 1st leaves and that's it ... No additional growth. There is no damage to the apex. Has anyone experienced seedlings that never grew a 1st set of leaves after 3 or 4 months? If so, did the seedlings survive and eventually grow? I am trying to determine whether I should save myself the effort and just pull these. Please share your thoughts.

Germinated March 2, 2017 - This seedling is 4 months old!

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Germinated March 25, 2017 - This seedling is 3 months old!

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And here is the aborted twin: Yes, Bragu! Survival of the fittest!This one is so tiny it's still in an egg carton cell. At least we have first leaves on this one.

So, Bragu, do you believe that if I transplant these into coconut shells (or even hollowed out citrus shells) for their nutrient components, they will grow?

Maria Elena

Hi Maria Elena, Hmmm, what would I do? I would throw these away and concentrate on the others, but that's me....If these babies survive, they would probably continue to grow slow always. I know someone who kept a couple of these stunted seedlings and they never did grow much. (Imagine...1 to 2 inches high after 2 to 3yrs.) You could grow many more beautiful seedlings in that time!

i referred to the coconut shell as a 'for aesthetics' approach … and if it survives, bully for it. if not, you have many other beauties there ...

Still not one true leaf after yet another month! I am going to stick these in tiny conch like seashells with holes in the bottom and place them on my succulent rack. If they make it, nice ... If not, oh well!

The first one germinated February 25, 2017 - 5 months old and no true leaves!

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This tiny one germinated March 5, 2017. Almost 5 months old!

Maria Elena

I have two like that. They do have 4 leaves though but just sitting there.

these are all I have from the 5 seeds I was given. I'm hoping they start to grow.

I had a couple like this - one of them lasted a year but they were always a pain in the butt, barely would grow, and really slow. I finally pitched them. Some things simply have genetic defects. I'm with Rachel on this one - survival of the fittest. If my attempts to make it thrive don't help it catch up after some TLC for a few months, then clearly IMO it's a waste of my time and space. But, everyone has to make that call for themselves.

Josephene, where are you located? Are these the first seedlings you've grown from seed? How are you growing them? Culture: Indoor/outdoor? How much light, water, fertilizer? What type soil mix? Please post a picture. Maybe we can help.

Yup, definitely a genetic defect on these two, Hyn. Odd because they both germinated around the same time. I didn't see any at all last year. I get the sense the smaller one will die soon and the larger one wants to live ... It's really plump and firm, like it's going to burst if I don't set a swarm of bees loose on it or something.

What happened when you pinched them? Did you just nick the center or pinch off a leaf? Mind you mine have only the two embryonic leaves, no true leaves whatsoever. I would think if you pinch off the embryonic leaves, they die. Maybe just one?

At this point, it's an experiment. As trivial as it may seem, I'd like to understand what the possibilities are.

Maria Elena, I have a seedling like yours, it was sitting for a long time doing nothing, and then it grew second pair of leaves... It was far behind others, but now I cant even spot it, they all mixed. Also I remember someone used Keiki paste with great success on a similar seedling. Good luck to your little ones, sometimes runts give us surprises! :)

Thank you so much, Elena. I am going to Hyn's suggestion and pinch the smaller one a little in the center, between the two embryonic leaves, just to see what happens. If that activates growth, I will do the other. Will keep you posted,

Hyn said "pitched," as in throw away, not "pinched."

I think you just read quickly.

Yes she did! Didn't read quickly, just suggestively. Thank you for clarifying. I am going to pinch mine. The point is to find out whether they can eventually thrive.

Let us know. I have a couple of little runts without true leaves. Until I get moved, they can stay like that, but your experience can be valuable for future reference. :)

Exactly, Ariel ... That is my mindset and the beauty of this forum. We all learn from each other's hands on, real-time experience.

Now I know there are others out there who have experienced the same issue. I imagine most people toss them. But Elena held on and was rewarded with a full, normal growing tree that she can't tell from the others now. That's the sort of information I wanted to know. As tiny as they are, they are not bothering anyone right now.

I will update when the pinched one croaks or leafs out.

Enjoy the week!

Maria Elena

Maria this one's a runt its turning out ok its about 1.5 to 2years old its not doing any harm but very very slow growing.

Thanks, Peter. The issue with mine is not that they're runts, but are completely stunted in their embryonic stage. They only have the original two leaves and nothing else after five months. I went ahead and nicked both of them in the center, between the leaves, with the point of an X-acto blade. Let's see if that activates the auxin at the apex to do it's thing. The smaller one looks like it's shriveling and dying. Will keep you posted. I'm hoping the larger one will leaf out.

Can you imagine your plant presenting tiny blooms just as it is? That would be amazing ... I would love to have a plant like that. Real, natural bonsai! I'm keeping my runts, treating them as I treat all the others their age (except for the pot size), and hoping for just that.

Maria Elena

Yes, I said pitch, not pinch. Pinching is liable to make things worse but at this stage you risk nothing by trying to jolt them out of being duds. I do have a few like Peter's that are VERY slow growing and small, with TINY leaves but those I'm not worried about. I love those plants and they /do/ grow and branch. That's not the same thing at all as being stuck at the level mentioned where they just won't grow at all, or if they do, keep loosing leaves, etc. Good luck with them! ;)