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Roots not forming... strange

Geist

Geist

Something is strange is happening with my fatalii germinations. I put 5 seeds in a damp paper towel and 3 germinated. The three that germinated didn't really develop any roots. Just nubs... I've attached a picture. These two I left on the towel and I planted one to see if roots would take in soil but nothing has happened yet. My ghost peppers and 7 pods were germinated using the idenitical method and they grew nice strong roots are are thriving now in their soil cups. Any idea what's going on here?
Thanks
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Could be something genetic. I wanted to ask the one that you put into soil earlier how do you know the roots aren't developing?

Hope they get to growing for you.
 
patrick said:
Could be something genetic. I wanted to ask the one that you put into soil earlier how do you know the roots aren't developing?

Hope they get to growing for you.
Click to expand...
I gently dug it up after the leaves started shriveling up.
 
I had some really flakey Fatalii last year. I know alot of people love them, but I had a real hard time getting them to thrive compared to everything else. I wonder if it really is a bad set of genes going around...
 
What is the PH of the soil you are using? it could just be the picture, but the roots almost look burned off - see the brown area where the roots should be?
 
jsschrstrcks said:
What is the PH of the soil you are using? it could just be the picture, but the roots almost look burned off - see the brown area where the roots should be?
Click to expand...

They weren't in soil. They were on a paper towel the whole time. The dirt specks were just from me wiping my hands after messing with other plants and then checking on the seeds. Nothing that would burn the roots.
 
This is really weird and I'm curious to see what happens to them.

Maybe there was some sort of chemical in the processing of the paper towels that caused them not to form? Did you have the light on them while they were germinating or was it in a dark location? My (limited) experience tells me that the roots don't really like an sort of direct light.

Just throwing some spaghetti at the wall here...
 
The seedlings in the picture, were they still in the paper towel before you took the picture? If so you may have left them there too long and it is some type of root rot. I'll let mine go until leaves pop, but I let some stay too long and the same thing happened. I threw the in some soil hoping they will start growing roots again, I planted them Sunday, the leaves are still green and seem to be reaching up, so we will see what happens. I think next batch, when the start sprouting and showing any root is go ahead and throw in some dirt.
 
Did you move the seedlings at all when you opened up the paper towel? I killed a bunch of mine because the roots had grown between the plys of the paper towel and when I opened up the fold in the towel I ripped the root off. They are super hard to see because the young root is the same colour as the towel. Now I inspect them carefully and rip the paper towel around the fresh roots and plant a little bit of paper with the seedlings.
 
A quick update: One of the trio shriveled into nothingness and died. One has finally started to perk up and i suspect it will live just fine. Another lost one of its seed leaves through the ordeal but its upright now. Only time will tell. I'm really babying them along because I don't wanna start another batch of seed germinating.
 
There are all kinds of different bug larvae that will make a meal out of roots, some too small to see with the naked eye. If you have a microscope check 'em out. Try anything you can find. I had fungus gnat larvae earlier and those monsters could eat a seed out of the shell. Those you could see without the scope.

I then checked the roots of a couple of seedlings that had stopped growing. Put them under the 'scope and found some type of worm or nematoad that was so small I could only see it when it moved. The roots looked like they had been cut off about a .04 from the top of the soil.

Good luck.
 
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