"Jill Claus" wrote:

I am trying to grow some Shasta Daisy's from seed. They germinated and are
growing, but are very limp - they are about 4 inches tall, but the stems are
so weak, they don't stand up. Is this normal? What should I do? Any help
would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Jill

They were similar here, though they are begining to strengthen now,
not so ready to lay against the ground. A few plants were like
this...baby breath, bachelor buttons. Now they are all standing
straighter.

I noticed a many plants seem to go through stages.. top growth,
thickening, root growth. I'll think a plant hasn't been growing much
and suddenly notice how think the main stem has become. Or a tiny
plant will stay tiny for a week or two then suddenly grow an inch
every day. That week-long pause was probably spent growing roots to
enable all the new top growth. For weeks my late-planted petunias have
done nothing. Then a week passes by and it has spread out to 3x its
size. My Cosmos has been slow growing the last 2 weeks...despite
finally getting sunny days. I noticed today that the stems have
thickened considerably. I think it is getting ready to grow some new
height and it knows it needs a strong base to support it.

Barring any crowding or lack of sun/nutrition, I think when it needs
to stand straighter it will strengthen.




DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener