I seem to have problems once I transplant my flowers from smaller pots to larger pots. I start off a seedling in a small cup or carton and it does extremely well. I wait a month or two, sometimes more, depending on how quickly it's growing and how well it's doing before I try to transplant it into a larger pot. However, it seems like it never fails, once I transplant, my beautiful flowers start dying on me, no matter how much I try to nurse it back to health. Does anyone have any good tips for transplanting flowers? My outdoor plants do great if I keep them in one spot from seedling to plant (outside, for example) but transplanting to different containers seems to be throwing me for a loop. Help!
A couple of tips that work for me- 1. Make sure the soil you are transplating into is similar(or the same) to what the plants are started in. 2. Once transplanted, keep the plants out of direct sunlight for couple days to ease the transition. 3. Water the soil you are going to be transplanting into before you transplant and water again immediately after transplanting. Hope some of that helps, I'll add more if I can think of anything else.
Is there a good amout of root? i only transplant into larger containers when the roots take up more space than the dirt.
I normally wait until the plant is root bound or in distress. Medina/ plant transplant juice also helps...
that's why I sow the seeds directly where I want them to grow. I have problems with "hardening off" (?? I think it's called) when transplanting seedlings, they almost always die on me, no matter what I do.
Thanks everybody! Those are some good tips, and I'm going to have to experiment with them, see what happens! Thankyou again!
You have to "wean" your plants to the outside, not in direct sun. I start with only an hour a day, in the shade, and increase the amount of time outside every few days, until the plants get used to it. Bear built me a bunch of "cold frames" where your plants will be safer than in the open, and you can open it if the plants get too hot. Too much sun, too much wind, waiting too long to harden off, or doing it too soon, or fungal problem will kill your baby plants. Do you have a side porch or a sun porch with a lot of windows you can open? This can start the process and they will be out of direct sun. Also, ideally, (but not always what you can do) do the actual transplanting into the garden on a CLOUDY day. It stresses the plants less, and if it rains, they get watered in nicely. We make baby cloches, out of plastic water bottles. We cut the bottoms of the boxes, so that we can make a flap, which gest buried in the ground, then we put the bottle over the plant, and if it is a little warm take off the cap of the bottle to let in air. Take the bottle off when the plant is either totally hardened off, or you have really hot weather, or the plant starts to flower. You need bees to be able to get the flowers for pollination.
