Transplanting failure

Hi,

I transplanted some flower seedlings (most planted from seed in early Feb) into pots and some are doing great, but others died. I expected this, but I was wondering if anyone has experience with this. I don't want it to happen when i go through this again.

I pulled the dead plants out of the soil and i was surprised to see the root ball completely in tact. There was no sign of the roots trying to grow out into the soil. They were transplanted at the end of March.

Anyone know why that happens?

lilmiss44, so sorry this happened BUT it is common to loose a few little plants that are still in the process of growing on. Transplanting can cause shock to the plants, when transplanting, holding the seedlings by the stem causes shock / death, this practice can allow disease into the plant.
If you fed the seedlings can cause shock. All seeds / bulbs, have enough nutrition held within the seed / bulb to see then through the process of germination, first few weeks / months depending on what type of plant your growing. Never feed any germinated seedlings until they have GOOD root system allowing them to take up the feed, and for the same reason, don't over water.
Over watering can also cause seedlings to fall over, a mould can form and instant death of seedlings happens, It's called damping odd disease, no one knows what happens BUT we knows it take hold of seedlings when they are growing in a HUMID DAMP environment, little air circulation around the seedlings, all seedlings need air BUT not drafts, there is a difference.
In the wild, no one runs around the world watering seedlings or bulbs, they vie for all the nutrients they require naturally, after germination, Feeds can burn the new soft roots, the stems are way too weak to cope with this extra amount of nutrients as does the leaves, then the little plant dies with sheer exhaustion.
If this is your first time growing seeds, the general rul for this task is DONT kill with kindness, Don't rush the plants onto the next stage of the growing process until they have made enough growing root / roots, enough foliage to support the intake of light, air etc. Normal transplant time is when there are 2 secondary leaves growing strong, you would handle the seedling by the SECONDARY leaf, lift gently out the pot / try and see IF there are enough roots to support the next growing on stage in a slightly larger pot.make sure the new pot is NOT too big and is clean if used previously, old dirt can cause diseases to grow.
When you do the first transplant make sure you put the seedlings back into the same light / temp etc you took them from and after several days, then start to move the HEALTHY growing seedlings outside for a few hours each day, extend the outdoor time (weather permitting) after a few days BUT bring back indoors before the temp drops, this process is called hardening off, the plants will go into deep shock IF soon as potted first time and then stuck outside.
Never feed the seedling till they are mature enough, dont put them into too big a pot as too much soil requires too much water and this can drown the little plants, I try water from the bottom when working with seeds, it keeps the foliage dry does not disturb the soil and when you place the tray of seeds into a couple of inches of water, you know there is enough water uptake when the soil turns a darker colour, lift the seedling trays out of the water and allow to drain, then replace back where they were before.

This is all rather long, but hope helps you out for any future growing of seeds, It's a great way to get lots of plants and much less expensive too.
carry on caring for the seeds you have and make sure you slow the process down,

Get back onto the thread IF you need further help as other may help you out too.
Good Luck
Kindest Regards.
WeeNel.

Thank you for all the info. All of my pansy's for sure were ready for transplanting. But they were quite root bound in the tray. But, very few survived. I have read different views about disturbing the roots when transplanting. Some say not to disturb them, and others say to break off the bottom or score them to get them to grow out into the new soil. I did not harden them off before transplanting. But, I did put them out/bring them in for several weeks after. We did not have very good weather here. I don't know, I guess I will just have to go thru trial and error to learn some of this stuff. I would say now maybe I should have gone thru another step of transplanting like I am with my begonias. I will surely do that next season.

The successes I have had for my first year far outweigh the losses and have me already inspired for next year.

Good, at least it has NOT put you off, so many folks want a Botanical garden from their first seed sewing and are put off because they have a few failed goes. To be honest, if failing was a put off, there would be very few people gardening, I've gardened for over 50 years and honestly, I'm still learning new things, new how to do, and new plants every other year,
Don't ever feel a failure lilmiss44, there are all different reasons why things fail and NOT always down to the gardener BUT gardeners are always involved LOL.

Get some books to read from your local library on germination and seed caring, book stores have a huge amount of beginners gardening book too, don't pay a lot for books until you know that one is right for you, some are only of use to someone who likes glossy pictures but very little info on how to grow the plants within the picture.
Easy reading is what I like in gardening books where I can put it down and get some work done then when you have a minute, you can pick the book up where you left off.
Just give it another go and see how it goes.
Good luck.
Kindest regards.
WeeNel.