Hello,

Please forgive my ignorance, but I have a question concerning the
health of potted Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) saplings, and I hope
someone here can help.


For years I have been potting these small saplings and they have done
quite well outdoors. This year I potted some and brought them inside
and placed them under a 1000 watt metal halide grow light. They
budded
and began to leaf out, but now the small leaves are appearing to
crumple and discolor. I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I
cannot
afford to have them die on me. I wanted to bring them in to get a
jump
on the growing season. Can anyone suggest anything? Watering or
fertilizer regimen, different light, number of light hours?

On Mar 15, 9:16*pm, Jim wrote:
Hello,

Please forgive my ignorance, but I have a question concerning the
health of potted Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) saplings, and I hope
someone here can help.

For years I have been potting these small saplings and they have done
quite well outdoors. This year I potted some and brought them inside
and placed them under a 1000 watt metal halide grow light. They
budded
and began to leaf out, but now the small leaves are appearing to
crumple and discolor. I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I
cannot
afford to have them die on me. I wanted to bring them in to get a
jump
on the growing season. Can anyone suggest anything? Watering or
fertilizer regimen, different light, number of light hours?

Were they too close to/ too far from the grow light? Did you check
the recommended distance? Is there too much salt in the medium? Is
medium sufficiently acidic? Is there room in the containers for
taproot and lateral root development?

At this URL:

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics...s/serotina.htm

there is a ton of information, including soil requirements, and light/
shade requirements at different stages of growth (but relating to
forest habitat; I didn't see anything about containers)

Good luck!

HB



HB