You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
I planted sunflower seeds about 2 months ago in some mini pots.They did great at first,but about a week ago they started drooping and turning brown and crinkly!What did I do wrong???
Can you post a picture? My guess would be damping off, it's a fungal infection that kills many, many seedlings--you'll notice that the base of the seedling's stem looks skinnier than the top part of the stem if this is what's going on. It can happen if you didn't sterilize whatever you were starting the seeds in, or if the seedlings were being kept a little too wet. It could be something else too but without seeing a picture it's hard to tell. Damping off is probably one of the biggest causes of seedling death, that's why I'm suggesting it as a possibility.
There aren't too many seeds i start outdoors...I like to start them under lights but these tend to get leggy and get a fungus mighty quickly...getting ready to sow outdoors the following: zinnias of all kinds, cosmos of all kinds...basically any plant that gets leggy in a hurry...when i do sow them inside I always turn the containers I have put them leaning on a side so that air gets to the bottom roots...
good luck
I don't know if it would be an everyday fungal infection if it is one,because I've been watching those plants and they're like nothing I've ever seen.Yesterday they were fine as ever,but today they're turning brown and crinkly again.I've never heard of that happening before.Is it common for them to do that?
I promise you that your best bet with sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, etc. is to plant in the ground...some flowers just do better when they go directly in the ground...then you can't ever let them dry out until they germinate...
A picture would really help, otherwise it's hard to say for sure. Have you looked at the base of the stem to see if it looks narrower than the rest of the stem? That's a sure sign of damping off. But if the base of the stem looks OK then it's something else but I have no idea what without a picture.
