Newbie: Potting Zinnias, Plants Now Poorly
 

I received some healthy Zinnias from Dobies with instructions to transfer
the plants to 3.5 inch pots using multipurpose compost etc.

I did this, but now 4 days later the plants now look sorry for themselves
and have started to wilt and turn brown ! What have I done wrong ?

To clarify what I did:
Placed multipurpose compost in pots, made hole and transferred plants
carefully loosening part of the root before placing in pots.

Quick watering with (Waterbutt) rainwater.

Transferred to (unheated) brick garage in front of a window that doesn't get
direct sun.

Any info would be appreciated as I am about to transfer some healthy Dahlias
into pots and don't want similar happening.
Thanks.

Mike.

"Mike" @ wrote in message
...
I received some healthy Zinnias from Dobies with instructions to
transfer
the plants to 3.5 inch pots using multipurpose compost etc.

I did this, but now 4 days later the plants now look sorry for
themselves
and have started to wilt and turn brown ! What have I done wrong ?

It appears that the sudden drop in temperature and root disturbance, to
which they have been subjected, has been too much for them.

To clarify what I did:
Placed multipurpose compost in pots, made hole and transferred plants
carefully loosening part of the root before placing in pots.

Cannot undersatand why you loosened part of the root when the idea is to
transfer the plants to bigger pots without causing undue root
disturbance.

Quick watering with (Waterbutt) rainwater.

The water needed to be tepid and certainly not really cold like that in
a waterbutt at this time of year.

Transferred to (unheated) brick garage in front of a window that
doesn't get
direct sun.

You needed to maintain a temperature of about 55°F. A three-way
thermometer will tell you how cold it got in the garage during the
coldest part of the night, particularly near to a window.

Best place is in the kitchen during the night; at least that is what I
do and then I use a porch during the day.

Any info would be appreciated as I am about to transfer some healthy
Dahlias
into pots and don't want similar happening.
Thanks.

Mike.

Regards,
Emrys Davies.

Mike @ wrote in message ...
I received some healthy Zinnias from Dobies with instructions to transfer
the plants to 3.5 inch pots using multipurpose compost etc.

I did this, but now 4 days later the plants now look sorry for themselves
and have started to wilt and turn brown ! What have I done wrong ?

To clarify what I did:
Placed multipurpose compost in pots, made hole and transferred plants
carefully loosening part of the root before placing in pots.

Quick watering with (Waterbutt) rainwater.

Transferred to (unheated) brick garage in front of a window that doesn't
get
direct sun.

Any info would be appreciated as I am about to transfer some healthy
Dahlias
into pots and don't want similar happening.
Thanks.

Mike.


Hi Mike,

It is not a good idea to use waterbutt water for seedlings and young plants,
as it contains all manner of bacteria and germs - as could a
less-than-scrupulously-clean plant pot. Although your garage window may not
have offered enough light, I doubt this would have killed your plants; they
would simply have become etoliated.

I hope you have much more success with your Dahlias. Watering with tepid
tap water would help. Use a clean jug, too, not some festering can that's
been breeding malicious microbes for the past few weeks. Save your precious
waterbutt water for border plants and acid-lovers.

Spider

In article , Spider
writes

Mike @ wrote in message ...
I received some healthy Zinnias from Dobies with instructions to transfer
the plants to 3.5 inch pots using multipurpose compost etc.

I did this, but now 4 days later the plants now look sorry for themselves
and have started to wilt and turn brown ! What have I done wrong ?

To clarify what I did:
Placed multipurpose compost in pots, made hole and transferred plants
carefully loosening part of the root before placing in pots.

Quick watering with (Waterbutt) rainwater.

Transferred to (unheated) brick garage in front of a window that doesn't
get
direct sun.

Any info would be appreciated as I am about to transfer some healthy
Dahlias
into pots and don't want similar happening.
Thanks.


It is not a good idea to use waterbutt water for seedlings and young plants,
as it contains all manner of bacteria and germs - as could a
less-than-scrupulously-clean plant pot. Although your garage window may not
have offered enough light, I doubt this would have killed your plants; they
would simply have become etoliated.

I hope you have much more success with your Dahlias. Watering with tepid
tap water would help. Use a clean jug, too, not some festering can that's
been breeding malicious microbes for the past few weeks. Save your precious
waterbutt water for border plants and acid-lovers.

I'd be surprised if anything carried in by rainwater could have caused
so strong an effect so quickly. IME a strongly growing young plant is
troubled neither by water from a water butt nor by unwashed flowerpots
(provided there's nothing obvious in there like root mealy bug or
lurking slugs). It is probably a different matter if the plant is
already a bit weak.

I wonder whether the key is in the '*quick* watering' - maybe not enough
water, hence the wilting. If this wasn't corrected, then the plants
would die off. Newly repotted plants tend to need quite a good watering
for the first watering because their roots will inevitably have got
bashed around a bit.

The only other thing is whether the unheated garage was in fact too
cold. I've just picked up some hardy fuchsias from T&M and the
instructions are basically to keep them above 40 deg for a while and
harden them off gently.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"Spider" wrote in message
...
Hi Mike,

It is not a good idea to use waterbutt water for seedlings and young
plants, snipped
I hope you have much more success with your Dahlias. Watering with tepid
tap water would help. Use a clean jug, too, not some festering can that's
been breeding malicious microbes for the past few weeks. Save your
precious
waterbutt water for border plants and acid-lovers.

Spider

Thanks for the advise, I will use tap water.At the present time the Zinnia
plants don't look any worse than how they looked when I made my original
posting so I'm hoping they will pick up.

Mike.

"Kay" wrote in message
...
..
snipped.

I wonder whether the key is in the '*quick* watering' - maybe not enough
water, hence the wilting. If this wasn't corrected, then the plants
would die off. Newly repotted plants tend to need quite a good watering
for the first watering because their roots will inevitably have got
bashed around a bit.

The only other thing is whether the unheated garage was in fact too
cold. I've just picked up some hardy fuchsias from T&M and the
instructions are basically to keep them above 40 deg for a while and
harden them off gently.
--
Kay

Thanks Kay for your response

I did water them well and the compost is still damp to the touch. There has
been a lot of rain forecast for tomorrow ,is it possible to put the tray
out for a short period if there's drizzle ?

My garage does get very cold at night..... I am using paper and boards to
shelter the plants from late afternoon onwards but do not always remember to
do this.So perhaps this is the problem..

Mike.

In article , Mike @ wrote:

Thanks for the advise, I will use tap water.At the present time the Zinnia
plants don't look any worse than how they looked when I made my original
posting so I'm hoping they will pick up.

Good luck. I used to grow zinnias as a child (the first things I
grew, actually), but have never grown them since moving to this
sunless and soggy island.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Didn't know that you moved from Ireland to England !!!!
where did you move from Nick ?
Tom Atkinson
"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article , Mike @ wrote:

Thanks for the advise, I will use tap water.At the present time the
Zinnia
plants don't look any worse than how they looked when I made my original
posting so I'm hoping they will pick up.

Good luck. I used to grow zinnias as a child (the first things I
grew, actually), but have never grown them since moving to this
sunless and soggy island.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

In article ,
Tom Atkinson wrote:
Didn't know that you moved from Ireland to England !!!!
where did you move from Nick ?

Northern Rhodesia, now called Zambia.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.