From your description my best guess would be too much water and subsequent root rot and the purplish -yellow tinge would seem to confirm that. The purple is common with young seedlings that are too cold or too wet and the yellow is usually a sign of too wet. 1 hole in bottom of the plastic cup isn't usually enough. They are easily plugged with soil. I always put at least 5 holes in the cups - 1 in the center and 4 on the edges so that they cut into both the bottom and the lower side of the cup. That way you can be sure they can drain adequately. Next best guess would be the potting soil - which MG? If it was MG Garden Soil then that is your problems as it isn't meant to be used in any sort of container and says so on the bag. It compacts and won't drain. Has killed many a seedling according to posts by others. Last thought would be that your plants got so tall - not a good sign - because they were starved for light right after germination. That is why most of us use fluorescent lights - widow light just can't cut it this time of year. When you transplanted them did you plant them deeply to just below the leaves, burying the too long stem? A long lanky stem doesn't have as good a circulatory system so difficulty supplying nutrients. Does any of this sound like a possibility? Dave PS: also what and how much have you fed them?

There are no hard and fast rules and it's never just one thing. Seedlings grow just fine for me with natural light in a south facing room. There are plenty of windows. A small ficus calls this room home and is very happy. I've grown aquarium plants in this room with no artificial lighting as well. Along with lighting considerations, care must also be given to avoid over watering. Keep the sterile seed starting mix moist but not soggy. Also, apply dilute liquid fertilizer only after the second set of true leaves are formed. Some other things that are frequently overlooked -- seedlings tend to be less leggy if there's some natural breezes and good air circulation. My winters aren't too harsh so I set seedlings out on a bench in bright partial shade to keep them pre-hardened during daylight hours. Wind hardening is part of the overall picture. If I didn't have this well lit room, I would use cheap shop light fixtures with full spectrum (natural sunlight) bulbs (5500-6500 Kelvin). I'd run them on a timer for 12 hours on and 12 hours off to simulate a normal day at the equator. And I'd run an indoor fan periodically.

Hi Toni!!!! I'm noodling around here, waiting for my bread to cool on the racks :) Everytime I see a thread about a cat chewing plants, I remember when I posted the same thing as well a few years ago. Boy, the kinds of plants I can have is limited to "would Bud chew this". So I currently have peace lillies, shcefflera's, both the Hawaiaan and the umbrella (my favourite style). I couldn't resist buying a 10" pot that was on sale for $4. It's a large spiky thing, (a dracaena?) but alas, Bud thought the tips looked tempting. So I have it in the spare room on top of a pail of kitty litter on the table in front of the window! Hopefully out of Bud's reach. I thought the plant was immune to his taste buds, but he was crunching on it the same day I bought it when it was on the livingroom floor, which is where I had imagined it being. Upon looking at the peace lily I see that he's found it! Note the chewed tips. A friend gave me some spider plant babies, so I had them rooting on the kitchen sill. Bud doesn't go up there, so they were safe. They were, until I planted them in some small pots, and one was upside down in the sink. I now have them hanging in the window, and 2 are i the bathroom on top of the over the toilet cabinet. Smudge was rubbing his face on the pineapple top that I have growing. Silly boy! I was afraid he'd poke his eye on the spikes! If I see him doing it again (I admonished him) the pineapple will go out in the trash.

My neighborhood is brand new with the oldest parts being about two years old and the youngest still being built (annoying!), and it's absolutely filled the the brim with outside people of all ages. Lots of dog walkers and thin, jogging women in the morning. Stay at home moms with their strollers in the afternoons and early evenings and kids everywhere. Oh, the kids! Seriously, we had so many trick or treaters last year that the ten huge bags of candy I bought for them was gone in two hours. (My husband was a bit generous in handing it out though... "when we run out, we can turn off the light." lol) Not a whole lot of gardening though, we have mostly landscaped yards, but more and more you see new odds and ends making their way into people's yards. There's one man around the corner from me who has a giant yellow austin rose in his front garden that is just magnificent. He prunes it down after every flush and when it blooms... WOW! I'm not totally sure which yellow austin that it is, because I haven't had the guts to walk up and ask yet. I'd be shocked if it were something else. There are a couple of other roses in the neighborhood, hybrid teas, I'd guess. Most people take good care of them, but a couple don't prune and those suckers and clearly eight feet tall and very thin. Eh. My yard is ridiculous. lol. I'm surprised the yard police haven't gotten on to me yet about my cottage-y garden in the front where everyone can see it. Ha! I got out there a little early to prune and tidy everything up so it's looking pretty good now. I am happy to report though, that after I did SEVERAL of my neighbors were out the very next day working on their own front gardens. Yay!