I'm not a very adept tropical gardener, but my friend sent me some guava seeds from her vacation in Hawaii. They are the little tourist packs. Well I had a pretty good germination rate, but I can't get them over about 3 inches tall. They just seem to waste away. Any tips? I have 2 seedlings left and would really like to get them to at least grow up.
Thanks for nay advice!
Little tiny Guava seedlings
When they waste away, does the base of the stem look sort of pinched in and narrower than the rest of the stem? If so, it's probably damping off which is a fungal infection. I'd try keeping things a little drier and make sure there's some air circulation, that's the best way to avoid it. Sterilizing your seed starting mix can help too but I usually don't sterilize mine and only occasionally have problems with damping off.
No, its not wasting damping off. They usually have a couple of sets of true leaves and seem to be on the verge of taking off, then boom dead little plants LOL its happened to about 5 of them. I'm beginning to get a complex
Are you sure it's not damping off? That's exactly how it happens, you think things are fine and then all of a sudden they're dead. It can happen to plants with a few true leaves too. Can you describe how they look as they're dying, and also some more about the conditions you're keeping them under (indoors/outdoors, what kind of light, how are you watering, are you fertilizing, etc)?
Well I have them outdoors. In partial sunlight, as full sun here will kill just about anything in a matter of hours. In this case it means they get 3-4 hours of morning sun and a little filtered sun throughout the day. I use miracle grow organic soil and fertilize with Dynamite organic fertilizer. I have fertilized some and not fertilized some trying to eliminate that as a culprit. Same result. They are transplanted from their seed starting cups to 6 inch clay pots when they get their 2nd set of true leaves. Thye sit on a shelf with various other seedlings and other young plants waiting for a spot in the garden. They get watered once a day in the morning.
It really doesn't look like damping off to me. LOL I've had my fair share of that happen! They don't fall over, they just crisp up and die in place. I'm wondering about watering requirements for guava? Do they grow in marshes? I'm having a hard time finding anything but general instructions on them. I might try just overwatering them, what do I have to lose at this point?
There are other fungal pathogens desides damping off as well. I have some seedlings that are over a year old, and I have really ingnored them as well as kept them in full sun. Wet/dry, etc. they haven't been affected. The trees in the yard are in various places also and two are under the irrigation system, one is not- they are all thriving and make plenty of fruit. Maybe just try a fungicide drench if you don't have that product- can't hurt.
A 6" pot sounds like it might be a little big, and watering every day especially if the pot's a little big might be too much (can't say for sure though since they're outdoors and in a clay pot, but if they were indoors in a plastic pot that would definitely be way too much water). Before you water, I'd try sticking your finger down into the pot an inch or two and see how it feels under the surface--little plants have little roots and can't take up water all that fast, so you may find that the surface looks dry but just underneath it's sopping wet. If that's the case they you're watering too much so I'd back off on that (or if it's bone dry down there, then they either need to be watered more often or more thoroughly).
If it turns out you were watering too much, I'd also probably pot them up more slowly next time since that will make it harder to overwater them. When I start seeds, I have them initially in the little tiny cell packs, then I move them up to a 2.5" pot, then 4", then 6". Depending on how big your cups are and how much of the cup is taken up by roots I could see a 4" pot might work, but 6" definitely sounds too big.
I'd also watch how much fertilizer you're adding--typically for seedlings at that stage I use 1/4 of the amount that the label says, then when they get a little bigger I'll switch to 1/2 strength, etc.
Also, are the seed starting cups outdoors in that same location, or are you starting them indoors and then moving them out when they get bigger? If you don't acclimate them slowly to the change in conditions that could have the effect you're seeing too. But if they're all in the same place then that wouldn't be a factor.
Weel my first batch came out of my little hot box for seed starting, but thses last ones were some I actually gave up on and set the cups outside. LOL a couple of weeks later I had sprouts ...go figure.
The ones I did fertilize I did use about a 1/4 strength. I guess its got the be the watering. I'll be very careful with the anounts and pay better attention to the soil. I'll also take these last 2 and put them up in 4 inch pots rather than the 6 inch. I have beentreating them lke the rest of my seedlings, which I've had pretty good luck with, just for some reason these little Hawaiians aren't doing well...maybe they are homesick LOL. I'll try your suggestions and hopefully I can get them to thrive!
Thank you!!!