"Sheila" wrote in message
om...

"Sheila" wrote in message
om...
Very strange, the 1st seedling I had removed from all the other pots, a
typical seedling, two leaves, and now developing two others, is doing ok,
but..... all the others now developing look like a curved peice of grass!
(in fact a miniature of the leaf) anyone else's like this? Reading all
the others posts, I thought the first one was the norm, but I'm not so
sure now, very strange indeed......


I rang my gardener, he didn't know, but he looked it up on the internet,
and said agapanthus seedlings are grasslike, I couldn't find it anywhere,
interested to see how others are doing?

Hi Sheila,

I don't know what your first seedling is, but it certainly isn't agapanthus!

Agapanthus are monocots (only one 'seed' leaf), and put up a single
grass-like leaf; as you say, a miniature of the leaf. If it looks like a
curved leaf, that may be because it's trying to grow to the light. I turn
mine around most days. My seedlings have a pale green (almost white) basal
sheath, from which subsequent leaves shoot. However, in some seedlings,
this sheath is just below soil level so new leaves appear to come from the
soil, but *right next* to the monocot leaf. Also, a few of the secondary
leaves come through doubled up, in a simple loop, then straighten out as
they grow. This seems to be due to the persistence of the seed coat.
However, as much as I would like to remove it, it is so stubborn that I
leave it to its own devices lest I bruise the leaves.

A few of my seedlings are putting up their third (very tiny so far) leaf.
I'm not boasting, of course, :~))), I'm just deeply chuffed and encouraged!

Spider