I conduct all my hybridizing activities in a very small backyard so space is the absolute limiting factor. So I have all my new seeds and plants on a 1800x900mm bench
At the moment I have 3500 seeds in 10 standard 35 x 29cm seedling trays that have just started to germinate.
I transplant them to 50x50x70mm plastic pots (42/tray) in 50% perlite to grow out to the first bloom. Then I repot the selected plants to 90x95x100mm(12/tray) and grow them on for a 2nd bloom.
It was my intention to repot into 200mm pots to grow out the 1st year but have found myself running out of space very quickly with the first few pots
What I need is suggestions on the absolute minimum size pots I can use to get the plants from that 2nd bloom stage through to the time when it is a confirmed keeper and any special conditions that would be needed for very crowded plants in restricting pots.
I assume that management re fertilizer water etc could be used to compensate to some degree for the lack of root space in the pots and would also be used to advance the plants as quickly as possible since the best space saver would be to make assesment as early as possible and cull
early.
Any advice or suggestions on what to do would be greatly appreciated
Russ
Space is something we all struggle with one way or another. I do my germination under lights in the basement and a max of 6, 4 ft fluorescent (2 tube)fixtures. I get 144 seeds/ standard tray, (planted in 12, 6 paks) 2 trays/fixture. So under 2000 is my germinated seed max. But I only plant germinated seeds, from moist peat moss at 4 C. With 25-35 % germ. typical, that lets me handle all I’ve ever had.
With remontant types, I screen rigorously at 1st bloom, for color, petal # and basic form. Up to 90 % go right then. With regular nutrient feeding, after a move outside, you can get 2nd bloom on those remaining with their roots in hydroponic growth in the tray. But you have to water every day, and not flood too much for most CV.
1 qt (1 liter) of potting medium is enough for further growth of the chosen through a season. So if you are keeping only 10 %, each tray has ~15 plants, in sq pots, and you’re right where you started for space. Do a further cull at season’s end for 1-2 plants/ same area, for full-sized plants.
If you are doing once-bloomers, the whole deal is off. They have to go into the ground to develop enough mass to produce bloom in season. Depending on CV that may take 1-3 yr to get out of the juvenile phase.
For the first bloom the seedlings bloom in the disposable water cups meant for bathroom use. They can not be more than 1 1/2 shot glass worth. As for the second bloom I really can’t answer your question, because by this time I have powdery mildew already go through so I cull heavily to get rid of these, only leaving a few of the heavily affected seedlings that still seem to be growing well as a vector to further spread their not so christmas cheer. After I cull for powdery mildew I will transplant to bigger cups and that gives me enough room. I know some of the ones I cull will get better outside and possibly not show any sign of disease but I need the space.
Hi Russ,
I agree that sooner culling provides you more space options.
To cull early, seedlings must be given optimum conditions - good light and regular fertilizer (very dilute soluble works best for this with every watering).
You can expect at least 1,000 seedlings from the seeds that you have. In my experience, only 1/100 are desirable seedlings, however, you will not know which are the best 10 after the first bloom cycle. Culling down to 100 seedlings though is very doable. Disease pressure is your best friend here.
Best wishes!
Jim Sproul
Yeah, disease in seedlings makes culling a little less heart-tugging.
I do not know what to tell you other than having to use a lot of pots and soil can get expensive. My best advice is to think economically and efficiently. Everyone has their own path in the regard. Personally, I do not use pots for seedlings. I sew straight into raised beds filled with soilless media. I always cover the tops with berry mesh in order to keep out birds/squirrels. I also use eco-friendly snail killer because slugs love to eat seedlings.
Good luck!
This year I did some experimenting for the purpose of finding a growth medium that would allow me to keep the plants that I liked the flowers, color, vigor and growth in a smaller unit a bit longer-like in order to see a second, third and sometimes a whole flush of bloom, before transplanting them to a trial area in ground. I probably do not have enough experience to cull after first bloom, but I have found so much improvement with the second bloom I don’t know how others do it! What I have settled on (after killing more than a few with mixes that do not drain fast enough-don’t experiment using what looks like your more promising seedlings) is using a one quart pot, with a 1/3 coir, 1/3 compost, 1/3 Sunshine #4 (or other fast draining mix). I also add some composted kelp, which is probably why the other mixes did not drain fast. The compost I use is homemade-the commercial ones are very heavy. Amend(brand)compost for clay soils should work well. Since I came up with this towards the end of planting out my more hopeful seedlings, I had about 45+ seedlings that I had not dumped, but had not intended to plant in ground, and I planted them in the one quart size in the above mix; they are still doing well-will keep them there to see how long I can push their growth. We did have 107F about 10 days ago, and the ones(5) closest to the pool (reflected heat off the water and a 6’wall) did fry. A couple are releafing, but the other 3 are brown to the core. Small pots do heat up and dry out fast. The seedings are approx. 8 months old, and still growing in the quarts. You could probably keep them in this size for a year or so if you had deep one quarts-they certainly are space efficient.