Pricking out advise?!?

hwalkerh

Hi

I have started some lobelia, pansy and petunia bedding plants a month or so ago. They grew quite a bit at first (pansy and petunia about 1inch high, lobeli 1cm) but nothing has changed since, they dont seem to be fattening up or anything.

Am i meant to be pricking them out? how do i do this, they look to week to move.

I am starting to think that my hope of growing bedding plants is fading.
thanks

Vibrant

Most seedlings put on an initial spurt and then concentrate on growing their roots. They will slowly bush out over April and May, so don't give up yet

You pr*ck out, when the second set of leaves start to show. They will often look quite weedy, but are tougher than they look, as long as you don't damage the stem.
Water your seedlings before you start and let the tray drain for an hour.
Get yourself a cellular seed tray (lots of pots in one sheet) a twenty cell one would
be about right. Fill it to the top with potting compost and lightly firm the compost.
Poke a hole in the center of each cells compost, with a handy tool (I use my little finger, but then I'm a scruffy sod).
Now comes the tricky part, remove the seedlings on at a time and place in their individual cells. There are numerous ways of doing this and different methods work better with some seedlings.
I use a teaspoon (either end, depending on the plant) to loosen the compost and ease the seedling out. You can hold it by a seed leaf, but never touch the stem, or roots.
Gently firm your seedling into its new home and then water it. I stand mine in a tray of water and let it soak up, rather than risking knocking the seedlings over with a watering can spray.

I rarely pr*ck out seedlings nowadays, as I find it rather tedious. I usually sow the seeds directly into cells, two at a time and pick out and discard the weakest seedling when they pop up.

Mortal

May I just add. I shouldn't bother trying to pr!ck out each individual Lobelia seedling. Replant a little 'pinch' of them into cells as above.

A lot of my seedlings are a little 'leggy' atm. I think it might be due to the low light levels.