Burying tomatoe stems for root bound, leggy plants
montpeliergrower
8 years ago
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Can I bury zinnia stems (as I would tomatoes)?
Comments (4)Susan, Zinnias aren't as good as tomatoes at putting out roots from their stems, but they can do it. Occasionally you will see a zinnia branch that is very near the soil putting out roots of its own. I have successfully grown zinnias from cuttings on several occasions. I breed zinnias as a hobby, and it can be helpful to multiply an extra good zinnia specimen several times in order to get a good seed yield from it. I use Physan 20 to keep the soft stems from rotting before they strike roots, and some rooting hormone. More details of growing zinnias from cuttings are to be found in some Parts of the "It can be fun to breed your own zinnias" message threads here in this Annuals forum. When I am setting out zinnia plants that have become too tall, I do set them several inches deeper, even when there will be leaves that rot off. That has worked for me most of the time. Your soil needs to be rather "open" for that to work well, because zinnia roots need to "breathe" oxygen. A good sandy loam is ideal for them. ZM...See MoreDo roots develop on buried stems?
Comments (1)They do on woody stem plants - those whose leaflets sprout directly from the stem itself. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, trees, etc. But they don't from those plants whose leaflets sprout directly from the core, root ball. They don't normally have stems anyway until quite late in life - like lettuce when it bolts - and many flowers normally grown in low clusters. Cabbage, broccoli (most varieties), and cauliflower are example of plants that fall in the "stemmed but not a woody stem" category. They can be transplanted deeper than lettuces and such but not as deeply as woody stem plants. Hope this helps. Dave...See MoreLeggy Tomato Plants
Comments (5)Whether you trench in or bury deep makes no difference as long as you don't shallow plant. Just snip off the leaf branches that will be buried - or don't - works either way its just easier to plant I think with them trimmed and there is nothing to be gained by having a forked-tongue plant sticking out at the soil line. Snip them close to the stem or leave a short stub - works either way - I usually leave about a 1/4" stub or so but it's not a big deal either way. It's not brain surgery. ;) Dave...See Moredirect sowing tomatoes in a hole and burying the stem as is grows
Comments (20)"based on my research, it is advised that people start tomatoes indoors so they can have fair sized plants once the temperatures are optimum. the second reason, which this question is going to revolve around, would be that it allows you to rebury the tomato stem which forces roots to shoot out in the spot thats been covered, allowing for a stronger and sturdier rootball" So the OP believes that the 2 main reasons tomato plants are started indoors is so you can have leggy plants that allows you to bury the plant deeply and have fair sized transplants. Am I understanding that correctly? If not, ignore this. If so, then both underlying assumptions are wrong. Plants are started indoors so that the environment needed by very young seedlings can be more easily controlled and the young plants protected and provided with optimal growing conditions. That is difficult, if not impossible, to do outside. If they end up with good sized transplants when temps are optimum, great. But 2" or smaller plants started indoors can also be transplanted at the optimum time. And burying plants deeply has nothing to do with if they were started indoors or not, leggy plants may develop indoors but can also develop outside, and millions of tomato plants are successfully grown annually without burying them deep. Dave...See Moremontpeliergrower
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