Red Hot Poker Seedlings???

Hi about a month ago i sowed some red hot poker they are now about 5 inches tall and about 10 to each pot do i prick out now or shall i wait a lil loger and also do i need to put one to everypot thanks

 

Hi Natty. There isn't any rule really. You can prick out anytime you want. I sometimes let seeds germinate on a piece of damp towl and then plant the seeds that have germinated when the tiniest bit of root shows - long before it gets any leaves. The key is doing it very gently so as to not break any roots.

But usually people wait till the seedling has got 2 to 4 leaves, as its then likely to be big enough to handle.

I am not sure about Red Hot pokers, as they are members of the Lily family and have thin strap leaves. But at 5 inches high I would think they could be pricked out Try a few and see if you can do it without effecting the roots too much.

Personally I always like to tease seedlings apart and pot them up individually. But don't put them outside yet its too cold.

 

Hi Natty, if your red hot pokers are 5" high I would say prick them out into pots.
You have to think about how many you want as each plant will eventually want quite a bit of space - so you might not need, or be able to save them all.
Peter seems worried about breaking the roots, but I think broken roots will recover.
I agree with him about not puting the plants outside. They are still babies and although in maturity will be fully hardy seedlings need to be grown on and hardened off before they can go out in their first year.

 

Alice, you are right about broken roots recovering. I am usually pricking things out much too early, when they have almost no root - so I have to be careful.

You are also right about the size. I meant to mention that they will eventually get massive. So three plants will fill a large area. However I hate to throw away healthy youg seedlings - and always end up with far more plants than I can use.

Natty, Why not pot up a few extra to give away. You never know what you might get something back in return - a bit of goodwill or even another plant.

 

hi thanks for your replys pricked them out today i managed to get 6 saved the rest had very little root and dont think wouldve survived