In order to minimize congestion in the busy WEC-2011 thread, I am going to post results/pix/discussion of WEC-2011 RUN#1 here on this thread…stay tuned…
Here is the link to the main thread where RUN # 1 was started:
Link: www.rosehybridizers.org/forum/message.php?topid=33780&rc=20&ui=2821528150
A few minutes ago, I transplanted these four embryo/seedlings into a small pot with drainage holes. All four had rather long and delicate rootlets (to my horror…some chance of injury in the transfer, I dare say…!!).
As I have no clue about perlite, I also placed this pot in a tray with a small water level, hoping that it will keep them properly watered.
I took the plastic cover off them.
I think in the next few WEC runs, I’ll go get some plastic cups, and poke holes in their bases from the start, and use them instead of drinking glasses!!
Here they are today, the new pot has drainage holes, and they are still in 100% perlite (coarse):
I still have no clue about the perlite medium and how to deal with it… For example I have these questions to answer:
I have this pot sitting in a water bath. Can I remove the pot out of this bath, and water it from above once daily instead? Or will they dry out??
When should I give soluble fertilizer? and how often??
I have these by a window sill indoors, at least there is no risk of vermin and slugs to worry about!!! :0)
These four floribunda seedlings are dummy runs, they are not important to me beyond experimentation with the 100% perlite / WEC idea.
George,
They look lovely and healthy- spring is coming yippee!!
Jim
Hi Jim. Spring???/?
It has just hit 100F and it is 1pm here. They are still alive!!!
George, you are in the throes of summer while we are battling winter! The weather sure keeps one hopping!
Jim
George, regarding the fertilizer, if this perlite is all you are using you will need to start a weekly diluted dose of a soluble fertilizer. There just is nothing to draw from the perlite and the seedlings do not have a great store of energy (food) in themselves once they have left the achene. And it takes energy to grow.
Hi Jackie, of course you are correct.
Since these four seedlings have no breeding value to me, why not just leave them with no fertilizer, to see what happens, and how long it takes for the inevitable decline to happen! I am hoping by doing this, I can learn something, to assist in the tweeking of the fertilizer applications??
Here they are today, in the water bath with 100% perlite.
They still look ok… I wonder how the lack of N-P-K I am now intentionally inducing on them, will eventually manifest?? It will be a real lesson to learn from these ones!
Well, no surprise, one of these four today showed dead cotyledons, and a darkening stem. Here it is in its entirity:
The other three still look ok.
Here they are around two weeks from the time they sprouted:
They are still in perlite, receiveing water but they are still without any supplemental N-P-K.
I am amazed how they cling to life!!!
Thinking back now, maybe the apparent burning of the leaves and stem of the embryo-seedling I pulled out and showed you a few days ago (see pic further up), was to do with the extreme heat of that day (over 100F), rather than lack of N-P-K, since the rest of them are still very alive, and still have not been given any N-P-K. I guess the rusty metal can did not help out with “temperature buffering” of their roots in that heat wave ROFLOL!!!
In fact I think the use of foam cups for WEC might be great if it works, in that it would act as a temperature buffer to the embryo-seedling roots…hmmmmmm…(thanks Jim P for making me think twice before abandoning foam cups for WEC!!!).
Here they are today, sitting in their perlite-only media:
Anywyas, I am going to change plans for these.
Since they are still ok, why not use them to test out the hydrocrystal + perlite mix that Michael G has advised me about?!
These three could serve as stooges, to test out the h+p media, and how compatible it is with the N-P-K soluble fertilizer I have here.
I’ll transfer each to one foam cup with the h+p media in it (I will create drainage holes in the cup bases in this case). Then after a few days of the transplant (assuming they are not stressed out), I’ll start applying the N-P-K soluble in diluted concentrations, every few days.
Will give updates here, stay tuned!
It turns out that each of these starved embryo-seedlings had one single rootlet which was quite short, and had a hard and tanned appearance…there was a total absence of fine white rootlets, no surprise!
One fo these flipped over and died…why??
I am thinking, it could either be the transplant shock or the h+p media to account for this… or both…the other remaining two seem ok.
Today the remaining two flopped over and died rather suddenly. This gives me some idea how much “steam” embryo-seedling floribunda like this has with absolutely no N-P-K supplementation… I am surprised they lasted this long, to be honest.