Mesembryanthemum - Transplanting

ksfahey

Hi all,

I hope everyone is keeping well and sane in these strange times! I'm new to this forum and also new to sowing seeds.

About 10 days ago I started to grow mesembryanthemum flowers from seed in a propigator on my windowsill. This is the result so far: 



My question is, judging from this picture, when should I transplant them? Also, what's the best way to do this? They're a wee bit fiddly! 



Many thanks! 

Katherine

Bijdezee

I grow these every year but I just throw some down on the soil in April and thin them out when they come up. 

Yours look a bit leggy (sorry) but I think i would thin them out and then pot on into small individual pots before putting in the garden or into big pots.

This has given me an idea to sow a few between my crocus bulbs whilst they die down. 

fidgetbones

They look like they are too hot and not enough light. Sadly in this state many will damp off and rot.  If there are any seeds left in the packet, I would start again. You need to sow them very thinly. Mixing the minute seed with some dry sand can help.

ksfahey

Thank you both! I'm going to take "leggy" as a compliment as at least they have grown! As I said this is all new... I was expecting to still be looking at compost

They've been in a heated propigator so I've just taken them out as I didn't know they were showing signs of being too hot! No seeds left unfortunately. But I will thin them out into a larger tray (I presume this is what you mean) and give them a chance.

Thanks both again. I didn't think I'd get a reply! 

Butterfly66

Don’t move them into another tray just thin out where they are - pull out the weakest, leggiest (is that a word?) ones so that the ones left have more space between them to grow. Keep them out of the propagater and on your brightest windowsill - but not in direct sunlight if possible.

when they get their next set of leaves, you can pot them on. Ideally into little individual pots. Something like yoghurt pots (put some holes in the bottom for drainage) or loo rolls standing in your seed tray will work fine if you haven’t got any plant pots. You want something deeper than the seed tray so they can grow and develop good root systems before planting out into the garden.

Mary370

For future reference as soon as the seeds have germinated you need to take away the artificial heat, helps stopping them getting too 'leggy '

Fairygirl

Leggy means either too hot, or too little light. Either of those lead to problems, but it's salvageable. Hot windowsills aren't good either when seedlings appear. Ideally, you want seeds germinating and growing quite slowly.
It's also far better to sow very thinly. Seed packets often contain hundreds of seeds, and a tray only needs 15 or 20. A spray of water [misting] is also best - don't soak them from above or below. 
They don't need extra heat. Seeds are best sown when conditions are right for them, so it's better to wait. Patience is what's needed 
You will have to remove a lot of those - don't remove some and put them in another tray, just take a lot of them out. Then when they're big enough - at least a couple of pairs of leaves, prick them out into little pots or as @Butterfly66 suggests.