Tropicals & Tender Perennials: My beautiful babies, 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
They are so cute! I lost about a dozen seedlings last spring due to belly rot. It was the weirdest thing. The roots were white, thick, and healthy, and the tops were healthy, but the bellies rotted in the middle. I was able to save some by cutting off the tops and rooting them. I watered them a lot last winter because they were in the greenhouse and because the soil would dry out fast, but I think it got too cold at night for them to have so much water, and I should have kept them drier. This winter, they were in the greenhouse again, but I watered them less and tried to keep the nighttime temp above 50 at all times. A couple of times it dipped into the 40's and once into the 30's when the power went out, but I think I won't see that same rot this year. At least I hope not.

Here is what the belly rot looked like in one of my seedlings last spring: