Day 15 - Six Re-Potted

Some of my seedlings were getting to tall for the container I had them in. This was yesterday's photo to show height. Although I wanted to wait until they were older, I had to re-pot them. I mean, soon enough, they'd hit the cover and the nice moist environment does wonders for them.

I mean, take a look at this photo. Those new leaves are growing fast and very nicely. Yay. This one is thriving.

I wasn't sure how to handle this. I need to keep them in a moist environment because they dry out too fast on the heat mat. But I needed a container big enough. I also needed a container with a clear lid, so the light can get through, but I can keep it on, for humidity. 

I realized I had a broken storage container (actually I have a few). And voila. Below is a photo of my old container (within the new container), housing the slower growing seedlings. On the right, you can see six of the tallest were transplanted to plastic cups. They are all the Kaleinani variety.

The clear plastic cups will allow me to see when they're fully rooted. When they're fully rooted, I'll move them to a larger container. I have no idea where or how I'm going to put all these. I didn't think they all were going to live. As of right now, I have 17 seedlings total (hey, that's my fave number, yay). It looks like 12 will fit in my big plastic container. Shoot, am I going to have to purchase another heat mat? Jeez. Maybe as these strong six live, I can move them out of the container (the container takes up a lot of room, as does my adult tree). 

Pinkerblue Update: the cotyledons are turning blacker, however, at the same time, it seems to be growing a bit. Slowly, but growing. Since it looked like it was falling over and I was wondering if that's what was adding to the black/rot, I decided to shove a toothpick next to it to stand it up. I accidentally pulled it out since the soil was on the drier side. Guess what? The root is almost double in size. That's definitely a good sign. Another good sign? I can see the true leaves starting to form between the cotyledons. Yay! My fingers are still crossed that the sole survivor actually survives!

Day 13 - New Leaves and a Survivor

Disclaimer: picture heavy post

I'm in shock. I honestly didn't think they'd grow this fast. But my little seedlings are growing like weeds.

Here's a photo of one of the quicker growers. What's funny, is in the beginning, it wasn't as fast, but it just took off. And look, it has it's real leaves.

And below is the PinkerBlue. Remember I was telling you how it was the singleton that germinated but looked like it was dying? Well, I took a close look at it and it hadn't fully shed it's shell. So, I very gently, pulled off the rest and it started opening up and growing. I'm not sure if the dark spots is rot, or if it's from the shell being on it too long. All I know and care about is that it's growing!!! 

This is my happy growing container. Full of germinating plumies. 

This is the my non-growing container. I have one very slow germinating plumie but as you can see, nothing else is going on. :( Boo. I'm going to transfer the singleton in this group over to the other container. Hopefully it'll grow some more. I would put the rest in it, but it won't fit. Boo again!

Below on the right is a side view, so you can see how tall they're getting. And on the left is my set-up with my current adult tree. The light is so far away now, but the seedlings still seem very very happy. Maybe next year, they'll be happy like my adult tree. 

Day 10 - Amazing

I seriously am amazed at how fast these guys are growing. In one day, the leaves are opening up and they're taller. I guess this is normal though. According to The Plumeria Society, they should reach about 6" within 8 weeks. That's fast.

I decided to try and get a side shot, so you can see how tall they're getting already. :) The one in the far back is the one from yesterday's post. It's taller and opening up. 

As you can see below, many of them are opening up and growing. The one in the very middle isn't doing anything. Oh and the middle row, is no longer the PinkerBlue's.

I have officially given up on the PinkerBlue's. All have rotted. There was one that rooted and is trying to grow, but it's slow going. I am keeping a very close eye on it. I think it wants to rot. One of the leaves has a dark spot on it, that has been getting larger. I have one more potted, but I think it's dead too. Out of 9 seeds, only one is barely surviving.

Therefore, the middle row above is now Kaleinani's. Not pictured is the single Pinkerblue in the middle at the very bottom (it'd be the 5th pot).

Day 9 - Sprouting Away

Everything is now potted. I checked on the last four PinkerBlue seedlings. 2 never plumped and the other 2 look dark and rotted. I pulled the seedling out of the shell to see if anything would happen. Needless to say, I don't think those are going to do much. I've given up on them.

In the photo on the left (above) is the remaining seedlings that I planted. The 4 on the top are the Kaleinani. The bottom 3 are Thai Mango Blush (TMB). Interestingly though, once I potted the TMB, I haven't seen any further growth. Hope they're doing okay. 

In the photo on the right (above), you can clearly see that the right and left sides are doing great. The right is the Kaleinani, which means I have 9 total. 7 are germinating. The left is the TMB and I have a total of 7. Only 3 are germinating. The remaining ones still in their shells, well, I'm hoping they're rooting, but we shall see. The PinkerBlue's in the middle row has one that is germinating, but it's going very slowly compared to the rest. The rest, haven't done much. Fingers crossed they're just slow and not dying.

And check out this grower (see photo below). If you look at the photo from my last posting, which was only two days ago, you'll see that it was barely above the soil. If it keeps growing at this rate, I'm going to have to take it out of the container. I'm concerned that if I do that, it won't have the consistent moisture since I won't be able to put it into a container. I'm going to have to figure something out. They seem to really like the moisture (and the heat!) and it helps me keep it moist more consistently. This is really turning into a huge project. Wow!

Looks like things are going well overall. I'm just shocked of how fast all of this is growing. Amazing. However, it's getting cold real fast, which means I have to bring in my adult tree. Which means I'll have to move the light higher, which means away from the seedlings. Right now, the light is about a foot above the seedlings. Once I add my adult tree, it'll be about 3 feet away. Less light. 

One Week Later (for the new seedlings)

It's been one week since I started the new batch of seedlings. I honestly can't believe how well they're doing. I also decided to give up on the other seedlings. I pulled them out, opened them up, and sure enough, rot. Boo. I killed them. Double boo. Hopefully I'll be able to keep these little guys alive. Although this is no longer a journey of the first set of seedlings, this is still a journey of my experiences and another set of seedlings.

Today I decided to pot the rest of the Thai Mango Blush. They all sprouted roots. One was about 3/4" long and curling up into itself, the rest were maybe 1/4" long. I decided to plant them in honor of losing one very sweet girl (dog) earlier this morning. Maybe when they get big and hardy, I can send them to the girl's honor and let her know how these grew for her. Such a sad morning.

Here's a photographic update of the others that I planted on 9/13. 

The row on the left, with two germinating and so pretty green, is the Thai Mango Blush. Obviously, this type is either hardy, easy or I'm just dang lucky. 

The right row is the Kaleinani (which I found out is supposed to be Ka Lei Nani, oh well, I'll keep using it the other way). The germinating one there was the first ever. Those seeds are doing well too. In the photo above, it's also the germinating one near the top. And in the photo below, the very bottom one is starting to push off the outer casing. 

That leaves me with the PinkerBlue. Will it germinate. Is it even rooting? Well, the ones in the plastic container under the paper towel haven't done a thing. I don't believe they're viable, because they never plumped. It was a crap shoot when I left them in the towels. I will keep at it and see what happens. I may pot them later, in case they prefer that. You never know, right? On the upside, I can see that one of the five below in the middle row, is coming up out of the soil. Which means it probably rooted and is starting to grow. Yay. Fingers crossed.

In case you were curious what they will one day hopefully look like*. Here's some photos from Brad's Buds and Blooms (where I bought them from). On average, it'll take 2-3 years for a first bloom. Talk about needing some patience. The Thai Mango Blush and Kaleinani I got because I rarely see those colors around (only in Hawaii). The PinkerBlue was to replace my pink that I left behind. 

Thai Mango Blush (US Version)

PinkerBlue

Kaleinani

*FYI and a disclaimer: a seedling may not look like either of the parent plants. It may look somewhat like it, but not always. Therefore, although we can call these what we want, and I can show you photos of what they will possibly look like, in all honesty, I won't know until it blooms. 

A New Batch

Because I killed the other ones, which I'm so sad about because they were given to me, I thought I'd give it another try with some purchased seedlings. I needed to see if I could do this and if, indeed, I caused the death of the others with my inexperience. I'd say inexperience and not being ready for them is what did me in.

I purchased 3 types of seedlings from Brad's Buds and Blooms. I bought Kaleinani, PinkerBlue, and Thai Mango Blush. I purchased 5 seeds of each kind and when I received them, I had about 9-10 of each. Very nice to get some extra in case some weren't viable.

I decided to go with the towel method, but this time I used paper towels and the plastic bag. I soaked the towels in a mixture of filtered water, hydrogen peroxide, and a drop of Super Thrive (ST), then wrung out the towel, you don't want them dripping wet. Then into the bags they went and onto the heat mat and under the nice bright light, which I finally hung. A light, from above. Yay. I hope my babies are happy.

As you can see from the photo, I put them in on September 11. Unfortunately, the heat mat was too hot and the bags were getting filled with condensation. I didn't want the seedlings to rot, so that's why you see a purple hand towel underneath it. Even then, too much condensation. I had to keep opening the bag, taking them off the heat, etc.

Two days later, Sept 13, most of the seeds were nice and plump. I decided to try two methods from here. One was to plant them immediately, the other was to keep them in the bag until the grew some roots. As you can see from the photos below, within two days, some were already rooting. Yay!

Since the baggies were getting too moist and I couldn't really control that, I also decided to chuck the plastic baggies, keep them in the paper towels, but put them in a plastic container. I left the lids on, but slightly loose so some airflow could get in, but yet, have the condensation keep it moist. 

One thing I was having issues with was my seedlings drying out. The ones in the baking pan, well, the soil was bone dry all the time. I was having to mist it constantly. I decided to put those in a plastic container also (no photo). I transferred them this morning (Sept 16). That way, I could build up condensation to keep them wet, but yet, have it be controllable. It's hard to find containers that will work without having to buy them. I suggest just buying them. The only seed starter kit I found at Home Depot was for 50 seedlings. Too big. 

As for my babies in the towels. The Thai Mango Blush ones (3) are all rooting. They're starting to peek through. The Kaleinani's, well, shoot, one got so big, I potted it. And I lost the outside, but I have heard that's okay. Today, I planted a nice green root and seed. Yay. Let's hope I don't kill it.

I decided to put the little pots (there's only two of them) inside the blue covered tupperware, to keep them moist until I plant the rest of them. I'd like to wait until the end of the week to let the roots grow a bit longer. The PinkerBlue don't seem to be doing anything, but well, we shall see.

I'm just hoping I didn't kill the seedlings in the tray because they dried out so much. I hope I found them a nice moist (but not too wet) home where they can thrive.

I just wish the first set of seedlings I received from my friend didn't die. I haven't given up, but I'm pretty sure they're goners. Obviously I didn't care for them as I should. This is pretty obvious, since this new batch is growing. Oh well, you live and learn, right?

I Think I Killed Them - Day 35

I am pretty sure I killed the seedlings. They're not doing a darn thing and well, no roots either. Yeah, I checked. Boo.

I'm pretty sure they died due to rot. I was told a way to tell was by gently and carefully pulling out the seed and either opening it up or squeezing it slightly. If it's squishy, it's rotted. If there's no white seed and it's all brown inside, it's rot. I opened up 2, they were rotted. I planted them again and well, I can hope for the best, but I'm pretty sure they're gone. :(

I will keep it up and see if anything happens, but my hopes are not high.

Day 20 - Nothing Yet

It'll be 3 weeks tomorrow. My babies aren't doing a darn thing yet. Boo! However, I decided to ask around and find out what is going on. I was told that I was being impatient. Me? Impatient? Never!!! Okay, always. And not just impatient, but my poor seedlings need constant heat. Oh...poor things. Before I got the heat mat I would put them outside, when it was hitting the high 70's, low 80's, then bring them inside where my house was getting down to the 60's. Oops.

So, now they are on the heat mat. Always nice and warm and a bit dried out. I mist them in the AM and the PM. I hope it's enough. Fingers crossed I haven't completely killed them.

Oh, I also bought a light. I haven't hung it up as I am debating how to do it. Not sure if I want to put anchors into the ceiling (I'm in an apartment). However, now they get 12-14 hours of light everyday. And good thing, because the past week it was raining and overcast a lot. There are so many options for lights out there. I decided to go with T5 fluorescent lighting. It's a 4 bulb light that's only about 2 feet long. Perfect for my little seedlings. And when winter comes around, perfect for all the seedlings and my full grown plumeria, which is outside right now. Speaking of which....

Below is probably the last flower of the summer for me. Looks like from September, the PNW starts to cool down. Which means no more flowering and probably by October I'll have to bring in my big plant.