Transplanting seedlings #2

We sowed the seeds, took care of the smallest seedlings and they grew up. I am talking about the indoor started sowings in this post. Those who are sowing outdoors will follow the same procedures later, somewhere in June.

For seeds started early under indoor lights, late March-April is the time to prick out (or transplant) some of them*. It all depends of course on the size of the seedlings.
*Some species that you shouldn’t prick out in the first year: Arisaema, most monocots in general – Corydalis, Erythronium, Lilium ssp., Fritillaria, Alliums, Crocus, Roscoea; plus other species that only produce cotyledon leaves in the first season like Podophyllum spp. and Glaucidium.

There already is a post on this subject on the Germination page: Pricking – transplanting seedlings.

Phyteuma scheuchzeri seedlings ready to be transplanted

But let’s talk more about it since the final goal is to obtain good plants we can plant in the garden. Most often you will find the popular advice to transplant the seedlings after the first true leaves appear. Maybe it stemmed up from annual vegetables growing.

For perennial species, it is best to treat the seedlings from case to case. Large, fast growing seedlings can be pricked out after the first true leaves grow: Centaurea, Delphinium, Salvia, Helleborus, most Campanula species and others like them.

Another case when it is best to transplant the seedlings quite fast is for the species that grow long roots and those that dislike transplanting (many from Fabaceae family: Astragalus, Oxytropis…).

For many species though the seedlings remain quite small, tiny better said sometimes, even after the first leaves appear, like it happened with Phyteuma scheuchzeri for example. In these cases, I find it best to wait until the seedlings grow up a bit more, especially if there is space enough in the sowing pot.

Keep in mind that we do not need a lot of seedlings of the same species for our gardens. So, be mindful how many you transplant: 2-4 pots are more than enough, unless you plan on sharing with friends! Concentrate on the quality rather than the quantity.
Too many pots, and soon you’ll find impossible to take care of all the seedlings, especially when the season starts outdoors.

Consider transplanting bunches of seedlings/pot (like shown in the image for Phyteuma), this way you will obtain nice clumps faster.

My favorite method for most alpine plants who like to be planted at the final location when young: skip the transplanting and plant the whole sowing pot in the rockery (in case you started them very early indoors). That’s my standard for Draba species: sow, grow for a while, acclimatize outdoors and plant in the rockery.

Regardless if you prick out or not the seedlings from the sowing pot, you have to start to gradually acclimatize them outdoors in the spring. Take the trays out for fresh air when it is warming out, and bring them back in the house for the night.