The stems cannot get enough food, water, and nutrients to the leaves, and the plant ends up dying.Seedlings are stunted and weak and struggle to produce.Seedlings that do survive are too weak to live outdoors when transplanted. Stems cannot support the weight of foliage and break, which causes death to the plant because it cannot continue to feed itself.It invites disease and makes seedlings more prone to things like damping off disease.Legginess is a problem for a few reasons: Why is Legginess a Problem? Leggy seedlings will be prone to disease and mature plants (if they live to maturity) will struggle with growth and production. Seedlings that grow a lot of stem length before they grow true leaves.Seedlings that break because the top leaves are too heavy, or they are too tall with no lower support.Seedlings with pale, thin, small leaves, smaller than what you would expect for the type of seedling.Plants that loop, curl, or bend in the middle or top part of the seedlings.Stems that bend, often curving up from the bottom with part of the stem laying across the soil.Stems that don’t appear to thicken and color as the plant grows.Very thin stems, not much thicker than a piece of thread thinner than a length of string.Long stems, much longer than they should be for the type of seedling you are growing.Instead of growing stout stems and beginning to form close to the soil line, the little plants shoot up and grow long, lanky, thin, stems that are unable to support leaves, foliage, and mature plant development. Legginess is when seedlings grow far too tall and cannot support proper growth and development. At the very least, it’s usually worth trying, unless that legginess has just gone too far. Catch and Correct Legginess and Have a Great Gardening Yearįortunately, the answer is usually “Yes.” With a little effort, leggy seedlings can be saved in most cases.Correcting Legginess in Older Transplants.Keep Conditions Right to Stop (and Prevent) Leggy Growth.Know when it’s okay to pot up seedlings.Potting Up is the Best Way to Correct Leggy Seedlings.The question, when you do, becomesĬan I save these leggy seedlings? There is a way to save tall and leggy seedlings, even if they are thinner and leggier than the tomatoes pictured here. Whether you are brand new to seed starting or you are an experienced seed starter, at some point, you are likely to run up against this problem. It is one of the most common problems when starting seeds indoors.
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