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View Full Version : Musa Sikkimensis - when to lift/prick out seedlings?


Chud
06-10-2016, 03:05 AM
Hi folks

I've got one shoot showing from 10 seeds so far:
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=59918 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=59919&ppuser=23570)

At what point should I prick out/lift this - do I wait for the first leaf to develop or get it into a separate pot now?

Also I presume I should put a cloche etc over the pot to keep the humidity up to what it's used to until it's a bit further along?

jmoore
06-11-2016, 05:21 AM
I would pot it up now, remove it from the propagator though.

Tytaylor77
06-11-2016, 09:36 AM
I always pot them up as soon as they pop up. You break roots easier if you wait. I put them in a solo cup with a zip lock bag on the top. Just keep humidity high while they are small.

Chud
06-13-2016, 03:07 AM
Thanks - potted up now and under a cloche (2 litre plastic bottle cut in half) on the windowsill - seems to have grown 2cm in the last 24 hours!

I've potted it up in a mix of 70:30 Coir compost (re hydrated from brick) and perlite. I added some liquid food to the water used to make up the compost otherwise it's pretty inert - does this sound like a suitable mix to continue with until it goes into the ground or should I look at something like ericaceous or citrus compost?

Chud
06-13-2016, 03:39 AM
I had the following setup for germination - I followed the seed supplier's instructions for germination:
48 hrs soak then sowed 1/4" deep in seed compost.
I placed the seed trays on my heated propagator base on a timer to give 9 hrs @ 30-35°C and 15 hours at 12-15°C (or as cool as the room got).

Interestingly this lil' guy popped up while we were having a hot spell so minimum temp never really dropped much below 20°C - I'm wondering about trying leaving the propagator on to see if any of the other seeds will make a show?

Chud
06-14-2016, 08:06 AM
This is the seedling ~3 days after pricking out.
http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=59945&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=59945&ppuser=23570)

Tytaylor77
06-14-2016, 09:27 AM
Congrats looking good. I started my seeds in October or so of 2015. Most came up in 3-4 months. In April or so I threw all the seeds in pots of sand outside in the weather. They are still popping up every now and then. They can take a long time to all germinate. It's crazy.

I have a velutina blooming and making new seeds from the same batch that are still germinating.