I had a helper (14 year old kid from down the street) to strip all the leaves off the seedlings in the shadehouse so that I could spray for mites. I told him - Twice/2times to cut the tips off of the very smallest ones if they were full of mite damage. STUPID me, I didn't check up on him...felt it was easy...NO, I said, NOT the tall ones...leave the smallest leaves. Well............
You guessed it! He cut the tops off of all of the seedlings!!! The smaller ones, 7"-10" high I don't worry about, I reckon they will send up suckers or side shoots.... but my 3' - 4' tall seedlings?
Question: Since the vertical growth is cut...should I cut them all back to about 10"? I am afraid the tender tops will not support any new growth...but the bottom 10" would.
I know I have lost a great deal of time growing these out...I am so blasted mad I could....................... I wonder which galaxy he was listening to when I told him what to do?
What should I do now?
I don't know.. It already has roots so it may make it. I had some seedlings out that were much smaller and they got dried out while I was oot and lost all their leaves. I watered them again just because and they perked up. I am waiting to see what happens
now matter how good and sweet you think they are... "14" means close adult supervision and most answers and questions from them in single words.
Take heart Carol - in the Monica's book soil (whatever) thread, there's a discussion about pinching tips to accelerate the Y.
A couple report that by accident or intentionally after removal of the tip it branched (my take on it) and then Y'd again immediately and bloomed.
So actually you may be getting blooms sooner than you think.
Ve8ch has that thread where the cat took the tip off a seedling (first leaves mind you) and it eventually thickened and sprouted new branches.
Carol I had a seedling that had mites and I did cut the top off as it was badly infected, i thought it was a gonner but it actualy grew leaves again and is doing OK. I would wait awhile befor doing anything.
Doris
OH, good. Perhaps I should just "leaf" well enough alone.
I am still furious!!! He is coming on Wed. to help me clear out some Pereskia and I think I will tie him down over a bamboo shoot....
Only kidding...
Yikes, you might want to keep him out of the hoop house. They'll probably recover.
Last year or year before, someone reported that they deliberately pinched the tips out to make them Y faster. I tried it on one. LOL It did not Y faster but it did not die either!
Carol, I think you are in for some fun!! I don't know which thread, but, I sent a photo of a seedling that was chemically burned through the roots, then defoliated by granules thrown on her leaves, and then topped by a storm, when a limb whacked her head off. Her trunk was thick and it looked like I'd used the machete on her, clean as a whistle, white center, encircled in celery green. After finding her, I was just sick - fast forward, then went out last week and she grew a Y right outta the white and green circle, exactly where she was broken off and now has multiple Ys and is just about to bloom. In the photo, it is obvious what happened to her, and I'll bet you will find the same thing with yours...instead of being the end of the world, it's given me a great new lease on gardening, and I bet the same thing happens to yours. Keep your digital handy, so we can all watch the fun!!!
This message was edited Aug 8, 2005 8:37 PM
Thanks, Sherry....I don't remember that post of yours (doesn't surprise me!!) but I am heartened!!! Trying to keep too much in my head these days and the brain cells dying quickly!!!
Carol, if I were you, I'd photo them now, at their worst, then a week later, and so forth, I'll be they are going to be fantastic!!!
Carol this is one I recieved from kell, unfortunatly it got mites very bad, I had to remove EVERY leaf but see it is growing them again, and I am sure your's will also.
Doris
