so far so good. now what?

[oregon]

Hello,
this is the first plant I have ever started from a seed on purpose.
it is a mimosa tree (albizia julibrissin)

my plant's life so far:
> soaked in hot water for 24 hours
> placed 1/2 inch deep in the very airy soil shown in the picture
> kept the soil hot until the first signs of leaves emerged
> 17 days later, now what?

I know nothing about gardening or starting plants from seed; this is my first attempt.

please provide me with tips on how to keep this plant alive.
thanks!

[img]https://i51.tinypic.com/swqmmh.png[/img]

[HydroCura]

I say just keep fertilizing it. Add compost. And it's good to add some worms in that soil if it stays moist. They fertilize that soil with their poop. So just treat it like a plant that you bought. All the same. Remember that it must get sun everyday. Or growing lights if it's an indoor garden.

[Kisal]

I have doubts that an earthworm is likely to find enough food to sustain life in a 2-inch pot ... but who knows. [img]https://bestsmileys.com/clueless/4.gif[/img]

Water well until water drains freely from the bottom of the pot. Allow the soil to become dry down to about 1/4 inch below the surface, but if it gets dry down to 1/2 inch occasionally, the seedling will still be okay.

I wouldn't fertilize until after 3 months, if you used a packaged potting mix. Most of them contain slow-release fertilizers that last that long. When you do fertilize, use a very dilute solution.

Mimosa seedlings grow fairly quickly, so you'll want to check the drainage holes on the pot every few weeks. If you see root tips, then it's time to move your tree up to the next size pot.

If you plan to plant the tree in the ground, wait until it's a minimum of 12 inches tall.

Did you know mimosas are legumes, like beans?

[oregon]

thanks very much, this is some great information.
so you said...

I wouldn't fertilize until after 3 months, if you used a packaged potting mix.

but I didn't actually use potting mix, I planted it in this

[img]https://i51.tinypic.com/2i945j8.png[/img]

so today I went out and bought this

[img]https://www.drearth.com/products/blended/images/organic-3-rose-flower.jpg[/img]

should I add this now? it's been 18 days since I planted the seed.
also, if I should add this now please tell me how. do I remove the soil and mix it in? that's what I gather from the instructions on the box, but it seems like removing the soil will hurt the roots.

thanks

[cynthia_h]

Worm castings are an *excellent* slow-release fertilizer themselves, and are listed as an ingredient in the potting mix. I would hold off on the Rose & Flower Fertilizer, since your seedling isn't even four weeks old yet, and it's easy to over-fertilize a young seedling in a small pot.

On one of the other forums, we're providing emotional support to a member who may have burned his young veggie seedlings with too much fertilizer, even though he was being fairly careful.

Please wait. Let the plant develop a root system which can sustain the top structure the fertilizer will encourage. It's not helpful for a young plant (or any plant, actually) to have a top structure the roots can't sustain. It will be more susceptible to insects, disease, lack of or excess water, and other plant ills.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

(edited for a typo)

[oregon]

its great to know this already contains slow release fertilizer! so apparently this soil is a good choice for growing from seeds. lucky

I didn't know you can provide too much fertilizer, it's a good thing I asked before I added any of the 'flower fertilizer'.

so now I understand I should wait until the plant is at least a month old before adding the flower fertilizer. Also, I will continue to check the drainage holes for emerging roots as Kisal suggested. I have a few questions about this..

‣ when I see roots, how large of a pot should I transplant into?
‣ should I fill the empty space in the larger pot with more 'soil building compost'? if so, will this eliminate the need for 'flower fertilizer' for another month or so?

sorry for asking so many questions, I am completely new to gardening

[Kisal]

I would move it to a 4" pot, when it outgrows the one it's in now. After that, I'd move it to a 1-gallon nursery pot. They are about 6" in diameter across the top, but are a bit deeper than an ordinary 6" flowerpot. It is a tree, after all, and needs room for decent root development.

Be strong and resist the urge to move it to a larger pot too soon, or to a very large pot simply to avoid the work of repeatedly repotting it. Mimosas are subject to root rot, if put in too large of a container.

[cynthia_h]

its great to know this already contains slow release fertilizer! so apparently this soil is a good choice for growing from seeds. lucky

Yes, this "Soil-Building Compost" looks excellent! But we'll say that, instead of being "lucky," you "have good instincts."

I didn't know you can provide too much fertilizer, it's a good thing I asked before I added any of the 'flower fertilizer'.

so now I understand I should wait until the plant is at least a month old before adding the flower fertilizer. Also, I will continue to check the drainage holes for emerging roots as Kisal suggested. I have a few questions about this..

I would wait even longer than one month. Depending on the rate of root growth you observe, it might be two, three, or more months before the plant can benefit from the fertilizer. Remember, the worm castings are doing their thing, and the mycorrhizal fungi are also working their magic. (For more information on these fungi, see the discussions in our Book Club under Teaming with Microbes, which was a group read in 2010, at https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=43 .)

‣ when I see roots, how large of a pot should I transplant into?

The next size up.

‣ should I fill the empty space in the larger pot with more 'soil building compost'? if so, will this eliminate the need for 'flower fertilizer' for another month or so?

1) Yes, and 2) most probably.

sorry for asking so many questions, I am completely new to gardening

Please don't apologize; how do you think other gardeners have learned? I learned by reading books, asking questions, killing plants...the usual. My hope is that the Internet will reduce the number of "killed plants." ::fingers crossed::

So, Ask away! and happy gardening.

Cynthia

[Kisal]

I learned by reading books, asking questions, killing plants...the usual.

Me, too!

There were times when I began to think I was doomed to specialize in plant assassination.