My seedlings drooped sideways

simpleton

Member
Okay I germinated an Easy Ryder in a dome + heat mat, went perfectly once I knew what I was doing, and thanks to some members here I've gotten a 100% sprout rate ever since, so THANK YOU ROLLITUP.

Now, I waited until the root was coming out of the bottom of my rapid rooter plugs, and then transplanted them into a solo cup with ocean forest soil. The stem at this point was about 4 inches long. I had a light fan blowing in the tent to help control temps/strengthen stems/help with moisture. The plant was fine when I had put it in there, a little weak stemmed but standing up straight.

I initially stacked some soil on top of the rapid rooter plug to help strengthen the base of my girl, and it was fine for about 8 hours until i went to sleep. When i woke up the little girl was drooped nearly completely over. The color of the leaves are fine, a little heat stressed but i just lowered the cup some but it's actually looking very healthy besides the stem drooping. I think the force of the fan in the tent combined with the weight of the leaves was just too much for it to handle and it fell over.

What I did was grab a q-tip, tore all the cotton off of it, washed it really good and put it under scalding water. Then when it had dried I stuck it in the rapid rooter plug right next to the stem, got a few pieces of string and am keeping the stem upright in this manner.

Is this sufficient? I saw a post or two recommend transplanting straight into the final pot and putting the stem deep enough so it won't droop. But this is the first plant i'm not really sure about watering/keeping a seedling alive in that big a pot.

How long after having a droopy stem do you guys start to see a strengthening of the stem? These are Easy Ryders so they'll be short plants anyway, it is also an AUTO ak strain, and those are pretty resilient I heard.

I know this post was long, but I like to try and include ALL of the information. This site rules and I'm looking forward to your answers in helping me solve my problems. Thanks fella's
 

Sray

Member
Yeah, as long as she's held up straight you should be fine. When you transplanted her did you use the same medium? Or did you transplant to different soil?
 

jawbrodt

Well-Known Member
Stretching is caused by not enough lighting. Keep the lights nice and close, and the plant will repair itself. Then, when the stem has become strong enough to stand on it's own, add a fan so that it'll get even stronger.
 

simpleton

Member
Stretching is caused by not enough lighting. Keep the lights nice and close, and the plant will repair itself. Then, when the stem has become strong enough to stand on it's own, add a fan so that it'll get even stronger.
Unfortunately i need the fan in the tent going nonstop because of heat problems. Right now i'm at a constant 88 degrees with the fan going, a little high but plenty of through airflow so it keeps things nice. If i stop the fan it gets to like 95. Will the stem build enough strength with the fan blowing on it?
 
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