Marianne's Response

Overcrowding in a pot

I have planted seeds and three pots and they are growing healthy but they’re growing quite a bit meaning I have many inside the pots I know one of the pots are going to be carnations my question to you is do I wait until they’re a bigger to put them in the ground or do I pluck some out of the pot so that they’re not overcrowded

Posted by Cassandra Rudolph on May 9, 2022

Marianne's Response

You need to thin out the seedlings now. I know it is hard to remove such cute baby plants but they will suffocate one another. You can try to carefully transplant the seedlings that you remove outdoors and leave only three or four of the largest seedlings in the pot spaced about 3 inches apart. In a few more weeks you can transplant those seedlings that survived in the pot out into the ground. Some gardeners find it easier to use tiny nail scissors and just cut off the extra seedlings at ground level so as not to disturb the roots of the others by pulling them up. You might also try starting seeds in egg cartons full of soil so that you have more individual pots and less crowding. One more idea is to use a  spoon to remove scoops of seedlings then separate these and add to the soil or another pot.  Just keep in mind that crowded seedlings do not do well. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti