My Trident Seed(s) have sprouted!!!

[Phoenix238]

I have a trident seed that has sprouted!!! (Please excuse the ecstatic enthusiasm )

After a month of stratification I noticed fuzzy mould starting to grow in my seed mix so I decided to remove them from the fridge and water them with garlic tea to kill any nasties that were in there. I also placed them in a heated propagator and turned it on. After a couple weeks I remembered they'd only had 30 days of stratification and turned it off again. Now, after another couple of weeks, I finally have one germinating! (there's about 25 in there)

Now, question time: When should I turn the heat mat back on, and what temperature should I set it at? How many hours a day should I run it at that temperature? (I have both a thermostat and a digital timer) And how often should I water using my spray bottle?

Such an exciting time

TridentSeedling1.jpg

[Luke308]

Nice work dude! Its a good feeling when you see your lil babies hatching.

I too noticed a couple sprouting. (out of about 1000 ) I really should get out there and take a photo and update my thread.

Was the heat mat on when it sprouted? If not, I would leave it off as obviously the weather is warm enough. Then again I am no expert with propagation so maybe someone else can offer some wisdom??

Maybe it would benefit the seedlings if the heat mat was on in the mornings from sunrise to say 9-10am?? My theory is they wont have the cold frosty mornings to hinder them, but I would like a second opinion form someone more experienced first.

Make sure the soil is moist, not wet. I water mine every 3 or so days depending on how warm it is. Mind you its been raining here on and off for the past 2 weeks. We had a sunny day yesterday, and the weather was forecast for 20 today so I made sure they had a drink before work this morning.

[shibui]

Trident seedlings are sprouting all over my garden this week. i pricked out about 70 into a polystyrene grow box yesterday.
I would not use a heat mat. These grow very well without and you risk starting a fungal attack with warm, moist conditions. And Spray Bottle??? These are trident seedlings - very tough, not sooky little babies - water them like your other plants!
Water the mix when it needs it. Better to keep the seedling tops a little drier because fungal attack is your biggest risk at this stage. Good light levels and air circulation is the best prevention for damping off. Sunshine is the best fungus preventer. They will tolerate sun buy not too hot so more careful in a few weeks.

[Phoenix238]

they're actually inside at the moment, same room as the aircon I know they shouldn't be, but I don't really have any power points outside. I did sneakily turn the heater down to a more reasonable temperature and like you Luke I've been watering roughly every 3 days.

[shibui]

Will grow much better outside with fresh air and sunshine. would you keep your other bonsai inside?????

[Phoenix238]

Trident seedlings are sprouting all over my garden this week. i pricked out about 70 into a polystyrene grow box yesterday.
I would not use a heat mat. These grow very well without and you risk starting a fungal attack with warm, moist conditions. And Spray Bottle??? These are trident seedlings - very tough, not sooky little babies - water them like your other plants!
Water the mix when it needs it. Better to keep the seedling tops a little drier because fungal attack is your biggest risk at this stage. Good light levels and air circulation is the best prevention for damping off. Sunshine is the best fungus preventer. They will tolerate sun buy not too hot so more careful in a few weeks.

Guess I'd better go put them outside then and I water all my plants with a spray bottle at the moment, I dont have that many (yet!)

[Luke308]

Guess I'd better go put them outside then and I water all my plants with a spray bottle at the moment, I dont have that many (yet!)

You remind me of myself 24 months ago

Plants do benefit from foliar feeding & watering, but you really need to water the root system as it is the roots that distribute nutrients to the whole plant. You should be watering the soil (or substrate) until water runs freely from the bottom of the pot to ensure that the root-ball is completely soaked. It is recommended to do this twice to ensure there is no dry spots in the soil, but I think that is only necessary with root bound trees.

I would put your spray bottle aside, maybe you can use it in summer to help with humidity if you have tropical trees or a really dry spell, but even then I wouldn't worry too much about it. If your roots aren't getting wet your trees will not be able to thrive, let alone survive.

You will be suprised how much healthier your trees will be when you get the watering right

[MoGanic]

I used a spray bottle on all my trees at an earlier stage.... I now have two very toned forearms.

[Phoenix238]

Probably should explain that while I do use a "spray" bottle, it is wound out so far that it is almost a jet anyway. On my larger plants I take the lid off and pour it around the roots

[MoGanic]

Don't you want forearms like uncle Mo!? **flexes forearms**

In all seriousness though, do whatever works for you . I still use a spray for my slightly smaller plants, and for when I don't want to displace too much soil (i.e. on landscapes).