Ive had this issue occasionally only last time I messed up trying to put it right, how do you go about separating the first leaves, approx 2 days old, can it fix itself?
Tried water drops hoping expansion might help, the scalpel awaits…
I go with a scalpel and tweezers and just take your time.
Does it have the sheath or are they just stuck together?
I am usually able to just do it very gently by hand. I hold the seedling at the base of, or just under, the cotlydon leaves between 2 fingers on one hand (so I don’t accidentally bend/pull the seedling when trying to get that membrane off), then use my other hand to very gently pull or scrape (with my fingernail) the membrane off (whatever the technical name is). It usually doesn’t take much to get it off.
They also do often correct themselves though. So you can try to wait it out for a bit and see what happens.
I don’t know what the sheath is, usually there’s a bit of shell holding it together but there isn’t here, just seems to be stuck together with no gap at the sides either to insert a scalpel tip.
I’ll try and get a better picture
There may be some sheath material at the very tip in one pic if I understand the term correctly-like fibrous material from the inner shell…
Or you can just get a scalpel point set of tweezers. Best purchase I ever made. I should lead off with they were my ladies tweezer and I commandeered them! haha I ended up buying a replacement. The other is now a permanent garden tool.
These are what I speak of. Not really sure what the style of tweezer is actually called haha
For the record, this is one of three Barneys Farm Sour Diesel seeds, they were the fastest germinating seeds I’ve ever had, they were an inch high 14 hours after planting straight into Bcuzz light potting mix.
I’ll use tweezers if a gap appears at the side but prefer to use a scalpel blade if possible as I’m a bit heavy handed.
Thx for input v appreciated.
I also think the next leaves should be causing some internal pressure to get out as they are now present in its sisters.
I wonder if I cut across the very end, like half a mm might do it.
I mist any material sticking them together a couple times to soften it up and gently use my Exacto knife to peel off the material. I haven’t had one not correct themselves without at least a tiny bit at the tip.
I think that’s just a cotyledon, you can see the tiny other, that’s why it appears solid with no division at all…
Great catch @George!
I use a dropper and place a single drop of distilled water on the stuck leaves and leave it there for an hour (lights off). An hour later I blow upon or tap the plant to knock the droplet off; but in the time it was there the casing absorbed enough water to usually be maliable to pop open.
I rarely need to do this anymore as I’ll keep my plants at this stage under a 4" square pot which acts as a dome making a micro climate with slightly higher RH% than the tent; so the membrane is always moist enough to be malleable.
They will pop open, sooner or later, that membrane will weaken, growing forces are hard to stop.
I suppose you are all generally speaking about what to do when finding a resistant helmet or sticked cotyledons, but this is not the case, too lazy to read the whole thread?
Us ? Lazy ? Haha you know us well
: )
Squirt with a misting of water and cover with ziplock baggie, just make sure to poke holes in it for air exchange
I agree, although I’ve thought it could be the microscopic next set of leaves.
I tried to moisten it and gently scrape the tip where they usually stick but no amount of messing revealed a crack to prove there was two stuck together, I think the bit you point out is either the next set of leaves, a deformed cotyledon or the remains of the cotyledon the rest of which is probably stuck in the shell wherever it is.
The location of the spot you’re indicating is normally smooth where the first leaves are so it can only be the area above the first leaves.
It kept up with the others for a while, I wish U’d left it alone as it may have drew enough energy to get the next leaves going but it’s unlikely now as it’s suffered my handywork.
It definitely is/was one single leaf
.
It looks like this now, second set visible but poorly.