PIT-EKA Satsuki Seed

[Glaucus]

Transplanting can get hard work. I try to transplant 2 to 3 trays plants each weekend. That comes down to 100 to 300 individual plants.
Today, I transplanted about 120 'Kangiten' x 'Yubi no Kagayaki' seedlings. I discarded about 50 or so that kind of were decent in size enough to transplant.
Like 3 to 4cm tall and a similar number of leaves. These were also densely won, from the original tray.
And I have so many more to repot. Right now it almost feels that any seedling shorter than 8cm is not even worth it to repot.
It becomes a bit of a grind. I try to do as many as possible right now because when spring comes and my outdoor 3000 seedlings from last year also wake up, many of those also need a repot.

I even put a few outside already. It is really storming and hailing. Not sure what that will do to them.
Even some promising Ae22 x 'Kangiten' seedlings. They might even freeze in March or April. Or just go dormant because of the low temperatures outdoors.
But I was unable to fill out the full 100-cell plug tray, so that was a waste of 'prime real estate'.

Huang 2-1-22 is still on my 'hit list'.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Ah yes, the reality of success!
Etc..






This is when one gets face to face with what’s important

Best
DSD sends

 

[Glaucus]

Ah, a fair number of mature bonsai in there as well. I do glance at many round-leaved cuttings. So I think my As04 x Hekisui seedlings fill the narrow leaf satsuki gap you might have quite well.
Judging from my last year's seedlings, Ae22 x Kozan and As04 x Hekisui have the nice somewhat glossy bushy narrow leaves effect going on.

I still have a dense tray of As04 x Hekisui that was never transplanted from last year. They look pretty good now compared with some of the others that loop more sad in winter time.
So maybe these won't be binned after all.

Regarding binning and 'getting face to face with what’s important', after translating some of the larger seedlings from 2021 indoors, I noticed one sitting alone that looked quite good.
So I check out what the cross is. But, I cannot find a label; it remained unlabeled. So basically, I should trash that one.

Back in 2011, satsuki azalea seeds were like gold dust to me. Funny how things changed.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Yep, I actually have all leaf types and Satsuki/kurime and other hybrids nowadays… but narrower leaf cultivars are always welcome.

At least count I was trying out over 100 cultivars. I’m starting to see drastic differences in growth patterns and can really see why the Japanese have popularized some cultivars over others.

We are experiencing a bout of sub zero nights and the test media temperatures are plummeting. The pot on the shelf has a 39.9F media temperature last night at 1745 and this morning at 1040 it was down to 32.0F.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Pitoon]

Gentlemen, kind reminder this thread is to document my satsuki seed crosses.

Please keep discussion relevant, thanks.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

I’m so sorry!

Mention azaleas and I guess I just get like my Grandmother did when she was discussing the price of Keilbasa and salami with her friends at the local Chicago deli they all shopped at!

Tell us more about your seedlings!

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Pitoon]

@Deep Sea Diver thanks for understanding.

 

[Pitoon]

Quick update....

Bad thing about the heat mat.....the trays dry out really quick. I found this one just in time.....this is from just one day. I just watered them hopefully some spring back.




Good thing about the heat mat.....they are growing really fast. Some are now pushing their 2nd and 3rd true leaf now. I will now start using the diluted fertilizer.

 

[Glaucus]

The look of this completely flat and smooth cotyledon being contrasted by a gnarly hairy true leaf stays amusing.
Did some in the center of that one tray dry out? They are too small to tell, but something is off? Or is it just the ones at the edge growing faster.

Not sure about your temperatures, but if this is indoors in a normal room, likely you can stop using the heat mat.
I do notice that the few trays I have on a heat mat dry out faster. Other than that, I don't see better growth either way.

Anyway, I will chat with some other azalea seed growers and try to figure out why seedlings at the edges of a tray will grow quicker.

 

[Pitoon]

The look of this completely flat and smooth cotyledon being contrasted by a gnarly hairy true leaf stays amusing.
Did some in the center of that one tray dry out? They are too small to tell, but something is off? Or is it just the ones at the edge growing faster.

Not sure about your temperatures, but if this is indoors in a normal room, likely you can stop using the heat mat.
I do notice that the few trays I have on a heat mat dry out faster. Other than that, I don't see better growth either way.

Anyway, I will chat with some other azalea seed growers and try to figure out why seedlings at the edges of a tray will grow quicker.

I enjoy the look as well! The tray dried out and by the time I came down to water it was too late, as of now the center portion is gone. The sides are still growing strong.

They are in the basement and it's chilly down there. With the trays on the heat mat the warmth "should" be helpful for root growth.

I'm curious to hear what the other azalea growers have to say about seedlings growing better at the sides of the trays.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Honestly it seems it’s all about how heat mats effectively distribute heat (and perhaps the size of the mat, and the environment around the tray… and the condensation pattern on the edges of the humidity domes use…."

The azalea cuttings in my trays on heat mats constantly dry out in the center of the tray. At one point I was thinking the mats weren’t designed properly and the majority of the heating elements were concentrated in the center of the heating mat. Upon closer inspection I’m not so sure this true.

Right now I’m thinking it’s just the edges of the tray are on/over the edges of the heating mat and the heating is less efficient in the edge area because of the air surrounding the try dissipating the heat. When I’ve two trays together the cooler edge effect between the two trays is diminished, but still there.

So now my working hypothesis is the edges of the trays are a ‘cooler zone’ and thus have less evaporation….

This situation seems to change a bit when one has different, larger, cuttings/whips growing at faster/slower rates. Then it’s more of a crap shoot as sometimes there are plants growing fast on the edges drawing in water at a faster rates. One can take advantage of the ‘effective heat pattern’ by moving the pots of the slow growing cuttings into the middle of the tray to help jumpstart their growth.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Glaucus]

I was actually thinking that in my case the center is wetter. Both because the edge dries faster because it is the edge. And because rain comes down more often from the center of the dome (this seems reasonable but I am not 100% sure if this is true).

Note, most of my trays were only on the heat mat while germinating. So this effect develops when they are long off the heat mat. Furthermore, my trays stayed moist to wet with domes for a long long time.

But I see this effect mostly in the wider rectangular trays. I also have narrow ones, and there I have not seen this effect, I think. I will see if I can take a better picture and post it in my thread.

 

[Pitoon]

They are starting to pick up some steam since I started giving them some fertilizer.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Well done! That’s just about the size I transplanted the seedlings I had left into 2 1/4 nursery pots with 4-5 per pot. It’s been about 4 months and over winter since.

Now most of these remaining seedlings they need to be up potted. I may try 2 per 2 1/4 pot next to keep in a smaller space. I’ve done this same thing with cuttings and
most will be good for another 4 months if all goes well.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

They are starting to pick up some steam since I started giving them some fertilizer.

View attachment 423887View attachment 423886View attachment 423885View attachment 423888

Hi Pitoon,
After my many failures to look after the seedlings re drying out or change in temp and humidity, I think I need some of those grow trays pictured above. Keeping the humidity in them and easy to look into them to check watering etc will be excellent to get my hands on some for my next attempt. Thank you in advance.
Charles

 

[Glaucus]

Yes, I very much recommend trying a tray with a dome.
However, try to find one that is more square and has drainage holes, if you can.
I have like 20 or so Garland standard (large) seedling trays:

Trade Login

Garland Products Limited manufacturer of innovative and practical garden products

www.garlandproducts.com

They can be bought in EU and US, but they have no link for NZ.

Basically, I sow them and then I only drain water from the humidity dome of condensation water once a week.
I don't even need to water the first 2-3 months. The only maintenance I had to do was drain the dome once every 1 to 2 weeks.
Of course that was indoors and with LED lightning.

This year I have amazing growth, some seedlings are already 20cm tall. And I am only there physically during the weekends.

 

[Pitoon]

Yes, I very much recommend trying a tray with a dome.
However, try to find one that is more square and has drainage holes, if you can.
I have like 20 or so Garland standard (large) seedling trays:

Trade Login

Garland Products Limited manufacturer of innovative and practical garden products

www.garlandproducts.com

They can be bought in EU and US, but they have no link for NZ.

Basically, I sow them and then I only drain water from the humidity dome of condensation water once a week.
I don't even need to water the first 2-3 months. The only maintenance I had to do was drain the dome once every 1 to 2 weeks.
Of course that was indoors and with LED lightning.

This year I have amazing growth, some seedlings are already 20cm tall. And I am only there physically during the weekends.

Those trays look good. Is the tray and dome made from thin flexible plastic or is it harder and firm?

I may pick up a few for next go around

 

[Glaucus]

They are durable. No damage on them after using them for 2 years now. Not sure what will damage them.

In the past, I bought these propagators at a local retailer. And those would be hard, but thin and very brittle. And just using it one year, the edges of the plastic would chip. If you were to stand on it by accident, it would crack in half. And even moving it around, it would start to crack. Just under the weight of soil & water. It boggles the mind they would create a product like that. And not cheap either.

These Garland ones are much much better. They are durable in that they are thicker and they deform and bend a little. No cracks or damage at all.
And I was able to buy them relatively cheaply: https://www.wereldzaden.nl/Garland-Kweekbakjes-en-Trays

 

[Pitoon]

Quick update, seedlings are now off the heat mat and moved to the shelf below the light. From the last round of seedlings I noticed they like the reduced light over direct lighting overhead. They are currently bouncing back since I completely removed the dome. I've been giving them a water soluble fertilizer for a couple of weeks now. I'm planning to transplant them when they get to about 1inch in height.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

. . I'm planning to transplant them when they get to about 1inch in height.
View attachment 427494

Good Job. Looks l like you will be in for a fun time soon!

Best
DSD sends