On 28 Jan 07, at 14:44, Stephen Putman wrote: > I sowed some of those Nerine seeds from a recent seed distribution. > They have germinated nicely and are coming along. I normally start > all my seeds in single serving Yogurt cups from the various > manufacturers therof. I drill several 3/16" holes in their (the cups) > bottoms, and have had good success for many years. The Nerine > seedlings have sent some roots through the holes in the bottom of the > cups - much sooner than any other seedlings I've started. So, leave > them be, and some roots will be snaking around in the saucer which the > pots sit in, and will ineveitable be lost when I pot these seedlings > on to larger containers. Or,..pot them up now, with root disturbance > to very young seedlings, but with subsequent long roots not being > lost? > > What do you all think? Pot them on now. Use a pair of scissors to *carefully* cut away the yogurt cups; there're millions more where they came from. And keep an eye on them: they may need fairly regular potting on as the roots grow. It is my understanding that monocot roots do not branch if the growing tip is injured, unlike dicots. Injure a monocot root and the damage can only be made good by an altogether new root growing from the basal plate (or equivalent organ) -- and that may not happen until next growing season. Hence the need to be much more careful with monocot seedlings, to handle them much more gently. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island