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Posted by potteringpam (U8439150) on Tuesday, 10th April 2012
When I read about potting on it says drop seedings into the hole so just the leaves are sticking out of the compost.What if- as is the case with my cosmos- the stems are about three inches long, should I still do this or will the stems rot in the soil?
You have obviously had the seedlings in very dark conditions as they have become what is know as `leggy`. You need 4 inch pots as they will be deep enoiugh for you to pot the seedlings to the bottom of the lower leaves. The information you read was correct.
Provided you do not over-water them, they will not rot.
Thanks for this. I haven't had them in a dark place though. They've been on sunny windowsills.
Just pot them on, as they are.......they will be fine !!!
Thank you. I'm going to do it right now.
When I read about potting on it says drop seedings into the hole so just the leaves are sticking out of the compost.What if- as is the case with my cosmos- the stems are about three inches long, should I still do this or will the stems rot in the soil? My cosmos were very leggy last year and I potted them on as deep as I could up to the leaves and they were absolutely fine. As I understand it the buried stems develop roots making the plant stronger as it grow. If that isn't correct I'm sure someone will correct me.
As I understand it the buried stems develop roots making the plant stronger as it grow. If that isn't correct I'm sure someone will correct me.Â
This is only partially true!
Yes there are some plants e.g. ''tomatoes' where this is true but not all plants do this.
Rather than concern yourself with which ones do or do not, it is easier to sink all leggy or otherwise plants up to the seed leaves (cotyledons) it does no harm and as you say ; the buried stems may develop roots and make the plant stronger
My cosmos were a bit leggy too so instead of filling a pot with compost and putting the seedlings in a hole at the top I put a bit of compost in the bottom of the pot then put the seeding in and filled up with compost arround it. It seemed to do less damage than trying to plant in the traditional way. They are looking strong now and out in a cold greenhouse.
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