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Hey guys, about a month ago I accidentally dropped some rosemary seeds into a big bag of soil I have. Today I was re-potting some mint and I found this little guy half-alive in the bag.
I put it in a pot of soil and used some bamboo sticks to kinda try and hold it up; and prior to this I let its roots soak in a paper towel for about 30min. It has a nice little root coming out. I figured if the root looked strong and the seedling wasn't brown it has a chance? I'm color blind so I can't tell if its dead or on its way out. If it lives I'm going to name it "Killer"

Any advice on saving this little guy?

southpaw - you have mentioned before that you are color blind, so maybe you aren't aware that the color is off on all the pix you have posted - everything looks purple, making it hard to distinguish what is going on.

I looked at your second photo in close up and I still couldn't see any needles on the poor little thing. Maybe there are a few teeny ones at the tip. But I'm thinking it is a goner, just spent too much of its little life in moist potting mix in the dark - worst conceivable environment for rosemary.

rainbowgardener wrote:southpaw - you have mentioned before that you are color blind, so maybe you aren't aware that the color is off on all the pix you have posted - everything looks purple, making it hard to distinguish what is going on.

I looked at your second photo in close up and I still couldn't see any needles on the poor little thing. Maybe there are a few teeny ones at the tip. But I'm thinking it is a goner, just spent too much of its little life in moist potting mix in the dark - worst conceivable environment for rosemary.

Yeah when I got home from work today the stem was really skinny and looks dry =/. Question though; if it has roots, does that still mean it can grow even thought the rest of the plant is F*^%ed?

No, probably not. In a well established plant, if it was cut down, it might have a chance of growing back from the roots, but not this little baby, sorry.

I hate to say it ... but trying to save a half dead little seedling is probably quite pointless. Though I understand your enthusiasm & passion.

A plant is a life force. The life force starts upon germination & seed production. Healthy growth is important from a young age. A healthy plant grown well in good conditions maintains health & good vigor for a long life. Having said all that though .. we have some pretty cool distorted plants that have mutated.

Generally I would try to take cuttings from rosemary plants or even layer some branches.

Rosemary are a Mediterranean type plant. They love heat, good drainage, hot dry conditions.... similar to lavender.

Good luck saving your little friend

Thanks for the replies, this little guy died =/ I tried everything on him. Anyways I opened the bag last night to re-pot some of my bigger herbs and I found two other seedlings in there in the same condition. I'm not sure how many seeds I dropped but they are obviously germinating.