I just wanted to make sure that burying the stems of seedlings is good to do. I am pretty sure that it is, but I wanted to make sure. Should I bury the seedlings right up to just below the cotyledons?
Thanks.
Thanks.
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Burying the stems?
- Thread starter ravishingjay
- Start date
Yup. New roots will definitely form on most of that buried stem. Go for it and good luck!
I bury the stems of the young seedlings, as long as the leaves aren't resting on the soil. It helps to have deeper containers rather than wider. At least for the young plants. There's someone here selling pots on one of the forums. I have some of those of my own. Those are squat pots and I've used them for flower cuttings and clones. But they're not deep enough for transplanting from a standard 72 insert flat. Deeper is better.
Greg
Greg
This is good info. I am so glad I found this forum.
If any of my seedlings are leggy I'll often transplant them sideways in the ground after pinching off the lower foliage so only the upper couple of inches are sticking out. Results in a stronger plant overall. They don't root as easily as, say, a tomato, but I've never had an issue. Later in the season I'll sometimes have new growth emerge from beneath the soil surface.
. It will root itself, making it stronger.I've always done this with tomatoes, but never tried it with peppers.
As sync mentioned, tomatoes are much easier to root out, but peppers definitely do it!
+1 to everybody - I do this with everything I grow from seed, and will with peppers, too. I'm not sure they need to be laid sideways unless your pot isn't deep enough, but that's probably just a bias of mine - no reason it wouldn't work just fine; you may have to prop up the tip a little, I don't know - sync?
Nothing wrong with just burying them as is. It really depends on the peppers- usually if it's leggy though the stem is a bit more flexible, but it will correct itself shortly. You can prop it up if you want. I've never really bothered, just sort of mounded the soil in such a way that it's curving in the right general direction.
As a general rule I don't always do this with peppers just because they take so much longer to grow. With tomatoes you can get away with it, but if you have a short season it may or may not help you in the long run. I haven't really done a comparison before.
As a general rule I don't always do this with peppers just because they take so much longer to grow. With tomatoes you can get away with it, but if you have a short season it may or may not help you in the long run. I haven't really done a comparison before.
Would be interesting to do just that (a comparison).
I would, but my lease is up in August this year so my season is going to be short... don't plan on renewing if I can help it.
lol. I hear ya.
I am wary of burying stems, based on the following video.
At about 4 min. in he starts pulling up plants and showing you what happened when he planted down to the second node. He mentions that the plants he planted this way did not perform well.
Who knows what effect burying deeper had on this guys plants. But the lack of root growth on his stems makes me curious. If you look closely, you can see what looks like some roots forming on the first node on one of his plants. Maybe they needed more time to develop roots.
Does anyone have any photos of root growth on plants where they buried the stem?
At about 4 min. in he starts pulling up plants and showing you what happened when he planted down to the second node. He mentions that the plants he planted this way did not perform well.
Who knows what effect burying deeper had on this guys plants. But the lack of root growth on his stems makes me curious. If you look closely, you can see what looks like some roots forming on the first node on one of his plants. Maybe they needed more time to develop roots.
Does anyone have any photos of root growth on plants where they buried the stem?
Hmmm. Seems like a lot of variables going on there, but it is interesting. Honestly, I thought mine had produced from the upper nodes upon xplant last year. They were in clear plastic cups and there were roots from top to bottom of the cup. *However*, I couldn't say for sure whether those upper roots weren't wrapped up/around from the bottom.
That being said, in the later months of 2011, I had roots coming out of the branches of several full grown plants. I suspect from the increased (greatly) precipitation/humidity we were seeing.
That being said, in the later months of 2011, I had roots coming out of the branches of several full grown plants. I suspect from the increased (greatly) precipitation/humidity we were seeing.
I don't have a great example, but here's one of my Datils that I buried an extra couple of inches... I'm pointing approximately where the old soil line was. You can see how the main stem extends down further.
I think how old the seedling is when you transplant it may also be a factor. Since pepper stems lignify over time I imagine you're less likely to have new root growth on an older plant... most of mine were fairly small and young when I originally planted them, not the monsters you guys usually have.
I think how old the seedling is when you transplant it may also be a factor. Since pepper stems lignify over time I imagine you're less likely to have new root growth on an older plant... most of mine were fairly small and young when I originally planted them, not the monsters you guys usually have.
Yup. I think you nailed it.
Which guy?