I may be imagining problems here, but here goes. I've got some snapdragon
seedlings growing under lights in my basement, temps in the 55 - 65 degree
range, I'd guess. They germinated like crazy, and I thinned them several
times, till I finally thinned down to one strong plant in each cell, then
transplanted up to 3 inch pots in potting soil. They've been getting 1/2
strength fish emulsion once/wk.
My problem is this: the leaves on some of the snaps look peculiar. The
veins seem to be proud of the top surface of the leaf, rather than the
other way around, which looks usual. These plants keep growing, and
generally look ok otherwise.
One thing I'm concerned about is I first noticed it only on one plant, then
on several, now on about half. None of the other seedling shows any sign
of this deformity.
I've checked my Diseases of Annuals and Perennials, and can't find a single
picture that looks like this.
Am I imagining a problem here? (please say yes, it is all in your head)
Thanks,
Jess
Cincy, zone 6
btw, thank you to those who answered my Q's on mold on seedling starts. My
onions succumbed, but I believe it had more to do with temps being too high
at the time than the mold. The herbs also died, but my snapdragons and
alpine strawberries lived and don't seem to be troubled by the green mold
they share their soil with.
Snaps hail from the Mediterraean and are short-lived perennials where the
climate is to their liking. Zone 6 is too cold for them to
overwinter though here in zone 8 I've had snaps overwinter (not this year
:-(....Longest lived snap I've had is about three years. Anywhose, like
lots of Med clime plants they like to grow cool, very cool compared to say
zinnias... When I grow snaps: my first batch usually goes out to the cold
hardening off frame about the middling of March and will go in the ground
at the end of March beginning of April. They don't mind a little frost
once they're in the ground (pots freeze harder than the ground and I bring
them in when they're still in pots on frosty nights.)
So, anyhow I've noticed that if they're looking a little piqued and/or the
leaves are getting a bit crinkly or overly-veined (sounds like what you're
describing) it is *usually* because the conditions are too warm for them.
(If you've got them under lights, even if the lights are cool flourescents
it might still be too warm.) I really don't know zone 6 (spoiled child
that I am :-) But I would guess it's too early for them to be out all day
and night in an unprotected cold frame. OTOH, except on cold days they
might do fine during the days in a cold frame (nights indoors). It might
also simply be that they're too close to the lights?
When my temps are too warm on a plant shelf I have also turned the lights
on for the night (when the air is cooler) and turned them off during the
day (when the air is warmer) which helps keeps the temps down a bit.
The other thing that makes snaps piqued like you're describing can be
hunger. But, they really don't need much in the way of feeding. I feed
them once or twice before they go in the ground with a very very dilute
fish/kelp water.
I seriously doubt your snaps have any sort of disease or fungal attack.
But here is some information:
Snaps get your basic fungal stuff, botrytris and some blights and all
that good stuff. Fungal stuff being far more common that viral stuff. (Yes
I am very scientific, "stuff" being a special term :-) They're especially
prone to the rust, Puccinia antirrhini
(basically 'snap rust' given that snaps are Antirrhinum (most common is A.
majus). I would be absolutely surprised if your snaps had that rust. To
boot, once in the garden snaps can frequently just grow right along with
the rust. (This rust is so ubiquitious you'll often find it on snap starts
being sold at nurseries and/or big yukky chain stores, Yet another reason
to start your own :-) Well, since this is really likely to
not be what's going on I won't describe the fungal stuff anymore :-)
Anyhowse, don't let it scare you, plants coexist with fungi all the time,
including fungi that like to "attack" them. Moreover, I wager to guess
that the majority of times there is trouble it's a cultural
problem; i.e., whether a pathogen is involved or not, the solution is a
cultural one...and often no pathogen or pest is involved at all,
secondarily or otherwise, it is just the cultural conditions themselves
which are causing the symptoms....
:-)
eliza
eliza
Liked your whole treatise on snaps. Several years ago I planted some in this
(currently) very cold zone 5 garden and they've been reseeding themselves
every year since. I even have some now amongst my rhododendrons (must be the
birds) and they are thriving without any signs of disease or insect damage.
Kimm
