JBP Seedling question

[Starshaker]

Hey guys I started some JBP seeds the other day and a few of them have sprouted and are getting their very first... I guess they're like the cotyledons of the jbp..

my question is,
The seed shell is acting like its stuck on the top and the "needles" are starting to pooch out in the center.. kinda like an egg shaped cage. So, should I try to help the outer shell off, or just wait a while and see if it eventually falls off on its own. Out of 10 seeds, only 3 have sprouted, and 2 of those are like I mentioned above, the third one has just barely started poking out of the soil, so I'm really hesitant to mess with it too much for fear of killing them, but also worried at the same time that the weight of the seed will break them or something cause they're bending over more and more as they get bigger.


I've never seen a seed coat not just fall off on its own after a while, but I've also never grown any type of pines from seed either so this might be one of those.. "haha everyone knows that" things that I just don't know yet

thanks,

J

PS: I don't have any pictures of em

 

[NGski86]

No expert here by any means but i have some insight from my own experiences. The seed casing will eventually be pushed off. I know if seems like certain death to keep it on, but trying to remove it will most likely do more damage to the new seedling than just being patient and letting it push itself free.

 

[sorce]

Where are they?

It's kinda late.

I think a lot of people have equated curly needles to being "stuck in the shell" when really curly needles are a different problem. I likely problem at an odd time.

Sorce

 

[Starshaker]

Where are they?

I'm a slacker.. I didn't take any xD

 

[Shibui]

Wild pines have managed to germinate and grow without help from humans for millions of years. Yours will probably manage without intervention but it is often too tempting. Even if the seed case stays stuck on the needles the new shoots from the centre will still push out through the bars of their prison as they grow.
If you just can't resist you can gently ease the seed case off the new needles but they are sometime stuck on pretty tight so hold the plant while pulling so you don't end up with the whole thing out of the soil.
If the roots do come out while removing a seed case don't panic. Remove the seed case then pot the seedling up in its own pot. At first transplant like that I trim the root quite short to get a head start on lateral roots.
Occasionally the seed case is so tight the ends of the needles will break off when the case is pulled off. That won't hurt the seedling either as there is plenty of green left to feed the plant and more real needles are only a few weeks away.