Alpine strawberry seedlings slow growth

11 years ago

I surface sowed some alpine strawberry seeds in Jiffy organic seed starting mix about 2 weeks ago. Out of 30+ seeds, 3 or 4 of them sprouted. Only one of those has actually gone on to produce its first set of true leaves, it is tiny and growing very slowly. The others seem to have stalled - one still had the seed coat stuck on, but seems to have no roots and may have rotted. Another the cotyledons are still together and not folded out, maybe it has rotted too.

I keep them indoors with a grow light a few inches above and a fan in the room. I don't think I've overwatered, but I need to keep the top moist enough to help the other seeds germinate. They have not been fertilized. I sprinkled cinammon to help prevent damping off, but concerned that it might be inhibiting the germination and root growth of the other seeds.

Whats caused the other seedlings to stop growing? And when do I need to start fertilizing the one that actually is growing?

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Comments (3)

digdirt2
11 years ago
I have no personal experience with them but from everything I have read about germinating them they are notorious for low germination rates (about 25%) and for very slow growing - months.

I know there are several how-to info sheets on them on the web and they all seem to share the same points: cold stratification first, then surface sow, keep soil lightly moist (cover with plastic if necessary), and wait - for a couple of months it sounds like.

Check out link below and see it it helps.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: How-to germinate alpine strawberries
freki
11 years ago
I've started "Alexandria", they are very slow to start & they will stall with insufficient light. Did you chill them?
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wolfpup64
Original Author
11 years ago
I did not chill the initial ones I tried. And they are a few years old, having been kept sealed in an unheated garage. Maybe they've lost some vitality, but I figured they would be cool and dry there.

A while ago I put some of them to chill in the fridge for a few weeks and planted those..they haven't germinated. I also just propped up the container to be a little closer to the light.

This post was edited by wolfpup64 on Wed, Mar 20, 13 at 16:06