So I vermiculite sowed Red and Purple Pulsatilla. I have some sprouts.

When and how should I pot them up? I'll still have to keep them inside for at least a month.

Thanks in advance!

I haven't grown those before. . My may I suggest putting a better light or moving to a better window. . Look kind of weak to me

I was told to keep vermiculite sown things out of direct light

@chelle did you grow these from seed once? @dirtdorphins ?

I tried once, had epic fail and killed my seedling
Rick has succeeded, maybe he can offer some wisdom... @Leftwood

I've never tried pulsatilla, but I have grown other seeds in vermiculite. I like the method. I just treated them as if they were in potting mix, and grew them under my t5 lights. I pricked them out as I would if they were in potting mix, probably around 2 or 3 true leaf stage. Here's an old thread on it:
The thread "Sowing in vermiculite" in Seeds forum

I just (a couple of days ago) sowed a few tomato seeds in big cups covered in plastic wrap, wintersowing style. Force of habit, I guess. Had I given it any thought, I might have used plain vermiculite. Having been in Florida for a good while, these were the first and only seeds I've sown this year.

Karen

I wouldn't really say that keeping vermiculite sowings out of direct sun is such a bad idea for newbies. They usually don't realize how quickly such a medium dries out. When they do, it's too late. But yes, yours do need more light, Jennifer, and cooler temps if you can (even as much as down to 50°F).

Had the pulsatilla sprouted in strong light, the seed would have been slower to develop above ground. Being forced to produce sufficient roots to support growth in harsher (stronger) light, seedlings should be stockier, too. But now, you're going to have to be gentle about giving them the stronger light they need, because they will need to adapt to the new conditions. This is the same concept as "hardening off", when you adapt seedlings from growing inside to growing outside.

Germinated under lights. One fixture of two high output T5 60,000K florescent bulbs.

I don't grow under lights. Usually I wintersow only. So I'm not sure what to do here. Darn, I was so excited to grow these. Now they just seem to be a pain.

Thanks for the advice

So they are outside and enclosed?

Then you ought to be able to give them dappled sun.

They are in the house. In bright indirect light. In a clear sealed container

I think I need to get out more....you all are growing such interesting seeds that I have no clue about.

So much to learn, so little time.....Sigh........

Jennifer, I'd just put them in a bright spot in the house but out of direct sunlight. Or... how's your weather? Could you put them outside in morning sun? Treat them like wintersown from here? We've had a sudden warm-up here.

Karen

Hi Jennifer,

I remember that I ended up buying plants, so that probably means failed to start these in containers.

One thing about starting seeds in sealed containers though, I do start gradually exposing the sprouts to more air and light as soon as I see them pop up. Then I pot up a couple at a time as soon as possible; holding the rest over as backups...just in case.

Leggy seedlings would still be better than dead ones though, and if they survive transplanting to outdoors they'd surely be normal the following year.

Thank you for the responses. I appreciate all the advice. I had a bad day at work yesterday (well they are all bad but this one was worse, I digress...) so I took this little disappointment larger than I should have.

After sleeping on it I decided to pluck out the sprouts and pot them up, all of them in vermiculite, not just the pulsatilla.

So this morning I potted up 5 purple Pulsatilla, 4 Red Pulsatilla, 15 Digitalis obscura, and 4 drumstick allium. Since there are more seeds in the containers I stuck them outside with my regular wintersowing containers.

On one of the red Pulsatilla I put a fine layer of chicken grit. On two of the purple Pulsatilla I put a layer of small rocks. The rest are just potted up in with naked tops. I moved the Pulsatilla to brighter light but in among other potted houseplants. I will gradually move them to bright full sun. I can't do anything about temperature.

So we'll just see what happens.

Thank you all again.

They'll probably be fine, and being outside with your wintersown stuff makes things a lot easier.

Karen

chelle said:... One thing about starting seeds in sealed containers though, I do start gradually exposing the sprouts to more air and light as soon as I see them pop up. Then I pot up a couple at a time as soon as possible; holding the rest over as backups...just in case. ...

Thanks! For some reason I never thought of that - leave some WS sprouts in the tub, as backups.

chelle said:One thing about starting seeds in sealed containers though, I do start gradually exposing the sprouts to more air and light as soon as I see them pop up.

Me too! This is a must if you want less leggy seedlings. If the first couple seedlings have emerged, the other seeds have absorbed enough water to emerge also, whether they do it soon after or weeks after. You don't need to worry about keeping everything extra moist (with everything enclosed) to prompt more germination.

So far none of the sprouts look worse for the wear! They don't look any bigger either but I'll take that over dead!

They just need a few days to sink their feet in and acclimate. Have faith.

Karen

Lost one but the others all look ok. Not better not worse.