too early to transplant seedlings?
I've had some zinnia and Tithonia seedlings that I am just not sure what I'm doing wrong with. They just don't look well. So I took a few and put them in the ground. They look better after only 3 days. They have not grown but are greener and look strong on the stems. So my questions is can I put small seedlings with only 2-4 sets of true leaves in the ground? Pictures to come hopefully.
Maybe so, Manny. Of course, it depends on your weather but seedlings often do better outdoors than inside no matter how much we baby them. Your plants sound old enuf for transplanting, at least.
Something I have done, not often but - I've done it, is to set up something for protection from frost and sun and let them make a go of it. They require attending if the weather turns on them.
The easiest way is to drive a stake close to the plant on the south side. Then, I've wrapped a sheet of newspaper around the stake & plant and secured the ends of the paper with rocks. One sheet is enuf for protection from too much sun. If a frost is in the forecast, you probably want 3 or 4 sheets. Severe frost might take more.
The stake provides a "chimney" in the paper covering - a bit of a gap. It can be wrapped tighter at night.
Your Zinnias and Tithonias are real warm-season plants and you will need to protect them against frost. A couple of years ago, we had a late frost and I had already planted a whole bed of zinnias. I set up pvc hoops and covered them with plastic, driving stakes at the ends of the bed to provide additional security for the plastic. We had several more days with severe weather including wind - the zinnias looked better after they were uncovered than before!
. . . and wind . . . newspaper has to be watched. At times, I've left things covered with buckets with rocks holding them down just because of the wind. Nothing is going to survive for long under a bucket but it was the best alternative once they were out in the garden.
Steve
Something I have done, not often but - I've done it, is to set up something for protection from frost and sun and let them make a go of it. They require attending if the weather turns on them.
The easiest way is to drive a stake close to the plant on the south side. Then, I've wrapped a sheet of newspaper around the stake & plant and secured the ends of the paper with rocks. One sheet is enuf for protection from too much sun. If a frost is in the forecast, you probably want 3 or 4 sheets. Severe frost might take more.
The stake provides a "chimney" in the paper covering - a bit of a gap. It can be wrapped tighter at night.
Your Zinnias and Tithonias are real warm-season plants and you will need to protect them against frost. A couple of years ago, we had a late frost and I had already planted a whole bed of zinnias. I set up pvc hoops and covered them with plastic, driving stakes at the ends of the bed to provide additional security for the plastic. We had several more days with severe weather including wind - the zinnias looked better after they were uncovered than before!
. . . and wind . . . newspaper has to be watched. At times, I've left things covered with buckets with rocks holding them down just because of the wind. Nothing is going to survive for long under a bucket but it was the best alternative once they were out in the garden.
Steve