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why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 30th, 2013, 1:22 pm
by arklan
got about 60 tea tree seedlings among others such as sheoaks and a bunch of them have come up purple
why is that? some googling suggests they r too cold but iv tried putting them in a warmer area and it hasnt helped
am now reducing water to see what happens

the seeds were planted in premium potting mix from a certain green warehouse and have been watered every second day unless its been raining

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 30th, 2013, 1:28 pm
by cre8ivbonsai
depends on what type of 'ti tree' they are ... Petersonnii shoot redish new growth naturally ...

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 30th, 2013, 1:42 pm
by arklan
leptospermum grandifolium
approx 40 r fine 20 r purple

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 30th, 2013, 3:17 pm
by kcpoole
Probably Just seed variation
Ken

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 30th, 2013, 5:16 pm
by Grant Bowie
lots of new growth on lots of Aussie trees comes out purple, red, brown; even green sometimes,

cold or full sun can also cause redness.

Grant

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 30th, 2013, 8:58 pm
by shibui
I'd say variation in colour is quite normal too and these seedlings look healthy. if it was a purple colour I'd say nutrient deficiency (starvation) but not this time.

Seedlings will need feeding soon after they germinate or they will start to starve. Your seedlings are about the size where I would prick them out into individual pots or larger pots so they can grow a bit.

Are your seedlings growing in the bottom of foam cups? I advise always fill seed containers to the top. The air cannot circulate around the new leaves and fungal infection is much more likely where air is stagnant - small amount more potting mix requred but definitely worth it in the long run (or cut the containers down to the heaight of the mix you want to use)

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 31st, 2013, 8:35 am
by Rory
purple you say? sounds like you have struck a new species of Australian royalty there. Try feeding them, waiving at them, taking pictures of them in awkward and compromising positions, and letting them pretty much do nothing.... after all, it works for English royalty.

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 31st, 2013, 10:29 am
by Peter Hobbs
Not sure how horticultural your answer was buddyman but it was roll on the floor hilarious :lol:

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: August 31st, 2013, 7:31 pm
by arklan
yeah iv already been potting them out to their own foam cups and filling it up to half an inch from the top.
i think it might be too much sun because a few of the cups have the plants going from really big and healthy on one side to being tiny and purple on the other in a transition, the tiny and purple ones being on the side of the cup that gets the most sun.
but then i have near 500 of the little buggers now so ill just cup them up and hope for the best.

the premium potting mix has slow release in it already, or would u reccomend adding some osmocote?

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: September 1st, 2013, 12:19 am
by Damian Bee
arklan wrote:leptospermum grandifolium
approx 40 r fine 20 r purple
That second photo shows lepto and casuarina (the purple ones with the candle like shoot).
Remember that they are seeds, not cuttings so you are bound to get some variation.

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: September 1st, 2013, 4:20 pm
by bonsaibruce
Greetings,
I was taught that new leaves were not green so they were less likely to be eaten. Purple growing tips survive to turn green. Turn green, I hope they have good luck on the glorious 7th. Vote early and vote often! Don't be a slacker and vote below the line.
Happy bonsai,
Bruce.

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: September 1st, 2013, 8:37 pm
by shibui
Premium potting mix does have some slow release fert in it but usually it is the minimum amount they can get away with and possibly the shortest term release as well. Extra fert will make a difference and will certainly be needed inside 3 months. I add extra osmocote (the longest release formulation you can get hold of) and also supplement that with regular liquid feed every 3 or 4 weeks.

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: September 1st, 2013, 9:25 pm
by arklan
ill just ignore them being purple and hope for the best, got plenty of them anyway.
the sheoaks are horestail sheoaks and every one of them is purple, theres the tea trees and a bunch of tick bush and bottlebrushes that also turned purple but anyway nothing i can do about it so ill just hope for the best, will put some osmocote in to them in a few weeks time

i also have this leopard tree (caesalpin​ia ferrea) thats looking a bit sad, no idea whats wrong with it but it didnt like the wind too much so have moved it to near the front door of my house. sprayed with confidor today incase its infested with something, will see.
but dont want to wait a couple of weeks to see if the confidor has done the trick incase its something else that will kill it, any advice?

edit: i also took it out of the cup, half filled the cup with more potting mix and then put it back in the cup so it has more growing space.

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: September 1st, 2013, 9:33 pm
by shibui
In such a tiny amount of potting mix I'd say it just dried out during the windy day. The extra amount of mix should give it a little more reserves of moisture.

Re: why r some of my tea seedlings purple?

Posted: September 6th, 2013, 11:44 pm
by arklan
ok so the damage to the leaves has been halted, and its started to grow another branch in the middle going upwards so i think it may have just needed some more nutrients, i gave it 10 grains of osmocote and some liquid fertilizer

this is my mini greenhouse for my seed cups, the top 2 shelves are cups of seed that havent germinated yet or have only just put out their first tiny cotelydons
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 1951_n.jpg

chinese elm seedling i put on this rock, not expecting miracles but its a nice rock
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 7488_n.jpg

piece of a paperbark root from the farm after my dad knocked over a few trees with the grader
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/ ... 1464_n.jpg