sprouted MG inside, should I be concerned?

I don't know if it's time to be concerned or not, growing under grow light, looks healthy except very very spindly. clue? if I put the light any closer to it, it will burn (touching).

What watt grow light are you using? Just curious, mine never sprout with such a long stem!!!

60W. It was the only one I saw at the time I bought it, no choices.

Jude, is that an incandescent bulb? You should be using some sort of full spectrum flourescent.

rats! it said grow light so I bought it. I have the other also, not sure why, but I"ll switch right away.

Thank you, will it change and begin to grow additional leaves, ya think?

If it said "grow light" it is probably full spectrum. What else did the packaging say?

I don't remember and I threw it out after I bought it. The flourescents that I have sayfull spectrum, natural light. That's it.

I want to say first that I am no expert, but I can relay what I have found out about flourescent lighting. There are two types of "grow lighting". One favors the blue spectrum (metal halide) and mimics the light in spring where lush vegetative growth is produced. The other type of lighting is the red-orange part of the spectrum (HPS, High Pressure Sodium) like late summer sunlight, and favors blooming and seed production. Most commercial growers switch out their bulbs depending on whether they are starting plants, or encouraging blooming (finishing plants).

I'll have to check further and see which I really have. Maybe I need the other kind, whichever it turns out I have, I'll switch and hope for the best.

This is why I only planted two seeds inside, I wasn't sure I could get them to even sprout indoors let alone grow, and I didn't want to waste the seeds. I'll try one more and see if under the other lighting it makes a difference in growth. If not, then I'll wait until early spring and put them outdoors where I'm sure they'll be happy.

Don't get discouraged! I have just found out that they do VERY well inside and I will now be growing them every winter! HPS gives you the most lumens for your money but can produce spindly or "leggy" plants. Metal Halide is more expensive per lumen but encourages compact, vegetative growth.

This message was edited Nov 7, 2006 3:21 PM

I just happened to read a post over in the greenhouse forum. The writer said that lights should be positioned no more than a few inches above seedlings or they will get "leggy". I don't know if that applies here, but you might try getting the light as close as you can without burning the seedling.

Here is a graphic showing the two types of light.

It looks like it is trying to find structure.Is it a vine? Give it a little trellis to get a hold of to twine around.

hey_jude,
what does it look like now? Is is getting any secondary leaves?
Beth

Just home from schoo and I have another set of leaves trying to unfurl. I'm going to make a small trellis tonight and set it up. Hopefully it will make it and not die. I'm very excited to have it growing indoors.

What variety is yours? I just got a Cameo Elegance started! She's not much to look at yet, but I'm excited!!

Mine is a pink swirl.
I'm not sure but I think I alsomight have put a Jamie Lynn in there too just to see if it would sprout indoors. I gave away most of the Jamie Lynn seeds so it would have been only one if any beacuse I didn't want to waste them on an experiment.

I'll try to get another pic tonight after I get the trellis affair figured out. I have no wire coat hangers in the house, so might have to use chopsticks and string to give it something to grow on. I can't think of another thing I would have that might work but I'll dig around and see what I can come up with.

hey_jude - I've used chopsticks and string plenty of times and although the trellis is small >it works...the long thin sticks they have in the supermarket 'bamboo skewers' and wooden doyles also work...plastic mesh and vinyl coated garden fencing cut and formed into a circle...also have used old lampshades upside down...

TTY,...

Ron

I'm working on it

here she is tonight with the new growth. legs that go on and on and on, lol

anyway, the'trellis' is the wire portion of two long silk flower stems I had in a crafting drawer. pulled off all the fowers and inverted one on the other, twisted the brabches around and voila~!

I think your MG will be just fine! She's a tall one!

yes she is, and I can't wait to see if she blooms or me inside. That will be the frosting on my cake!

My "inside" morning glory is even making seeds!

Ok baolvera do you have that inside one under any special lights??

Its under a 27 watt Sunlight Lamp from Lamps of America. I bought it at Bi-Mart for under $20.

hey_jude - great homemade trellis...also,sometimes there are advantages in certain species of MG's to initially intentionally causing the seedling to become elongated below the cotyledons...more on this later...maybe Beth will venture a guess...

baolvera - I think the photo you took here
http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/baolvera_1163102063_475.jpg
belongs in the PlantFiles here
Ipomoea purpurea
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/57560/index.html
as there is currently no other photo in the database that clearly shows very important ID features that are so nicely visible in your photo...e.g.,the reflexed pedicel of the almost mature,but still green seedpod...

I would like to suggest that everyone interested in MG's take particular note of the seedpod pedicel...the portion that is horizontal,the 2 small bracts that are visible exactly at the base of where the pedicel begins to swell and become inflated >which is just slightly below the point where the pedicel has made the 180degree turn so that the sepals that were previously pointing upwards >are now pointing towards the ground...

Excellent++(!) reference photo...

TTY,...

Ron

Okay Ron, I'll post it.

Thanks all, now for some other news on MGs.
Driving home this morning, I saw a house in the next blook which suddenly has a VERY dark blue MG growing on an old post sort of split rail fence. I'll try to get a pic tomorrow and see if I can find anyone at home to sek if I could get some seeds if and when they mature.

Exciting.