Re: CULT: Bloom report and other stuff
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: CULT: Bloom report and other stuff
- From: "* G* C* <j*@erols.com>
- Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 20:11:26 -0600 (MDT)
Jan Clark wrote:
>
> . . .
> 50% of my soaked and stratified TB's have germinated this week. They are
> growing in seed raising mix. Can anyone tell me if these will need a
> liquid feed before planting out? (some are 1.5" tall)
>
Jan -- It really depends on when you intend to transplant them. A "rule"
passed on to me when I was beginning is that seedlings are ready for
transplanting when they have three leaves. At this time, they usually
still have the seed attached and not much of a rhizome. If you
transplant them this early, you will not have needed to feed them
anything beforehand. But also, the earlier you transplant, the greater
the risk of loss, I find. Because of a variety of exigencies, I usually
transplant mine much later. So, when they are about 3 inches tall, I
feed them Miracle Gro once a week. They seem to appreciate that, and
repay me by growing even faster, so that I am driven to get the planting
beds ready sooner than I wanted to. I transplant them into beds that I
have already fertilized, so they need no feeding after that until late
winter or early spring. It is quite important, however, to keep your
seedling beds moist (i.e., no prolonged dry periods -- any time the top
of the ground is bone dry, you should give them a good morning watering)
after transplanting, so that the seedlings don't go dormant too early.
If they do, you probably won't get bloom the following spring.
Griff Crump, along the tidal Potomac near Mount Vernon, VA
jgcrump@erols.com
