Jack Pine sprout is now leaning

[LchNessMnstr]

Hi,
Before I get heat for this, yes, I know coniferous trees should not be grown indoors, but I do not have another choice right now and am prepared to give this sprout all the care it needs. Outdoor arrangements will be made once the sprout is stable. Plus, it's a sprout, not even a seedling, and the fragile thing would die in a day if I put it outside right now. I'm an avid green thumb, and have grown many pine saplings who were quite happy in pots before, but never from seed. Genuine help is appreciated, negativity is just discouraging.

My friend got me one of those "Mini Bonsai Kits" and I said "why not?" I did some research, followed the instructions, cold-stratified and germinated the seeds, got the proper soil, gave the seeds all decent sized starter pots (not the tiny thing it came with), watered it properly, and despite all odds and negativity surrounding the kits, I got a beautiful sprout!

I've been following the regimen of watering only when the soil is dry-dry, it gets more than enough sunlight, and the thing was doing great. It was nice and straight, bright green, beautiful.

I woke up this morning and the poor sprout is now leaning away from the sun and I don't know why, or, more importantly, what to do about it. Could it actually be getting too much sun? Or does it need more? Should I start fertilizing it right away, even though it's so young and still fragile? It's still bright green. It's just... leaning at a 45 degree angle.

Again, I just want help growing the little guy. Thoughts?

[tomc]

Some times what we think we know, and what a tree needs are different.

I started my love affair with trees in pots in the nineties in NH (Laconia and Henniker). Every time I tried growing tree seeds indoors I ran into 1. root rot, 2. damping off, 3. fungal problems (with tented seedlings).

At several different light and humidity levels.

IMO "I" didn't have the tools to start tree seeds indoors, or have a green house as a plan "B".

You can admonish me for bringing up growing them outdoors, but for me. That is what worked.

Your leaning tree most likely has damping off, which is not recoverable, indoors or out.

I am sorry.

[rainbowgardener]

Hmmmm.... I'm not familiar with damping off in tree seedlings, though I'm very familiar with it in little plant seedlings. You didn't show us a picture. Damping off only usually affects them as very young seedlings, before the trunk is woody. Look very closely at the base of your seedling. If tom is right, there would be a slightly darkened brownish area at the base of the stem and a little bit pinched in look.



https://bcoon.com/Kovach/Dampingoff.jpg

If that is what you find, then tom is also right, it is RIP tree seedling. Damping off (a fungal disease) can be prevented, but not cured.

If you don't see any signs of that, then you might give it a little more chance. I don't know what your soil is like, but if it was loose, it can settle, leading to leaning. If it seems like this is a possibility, just add a little more soil, prop the treeling up straight, and firm the soil around it. It is NOT leaning because it was getting too much sun.

If it survives until winter, it will need some cold dormancy. Put it in the coldest spot in your house and give it very little water or light and no fertilizer, let it rest.