Seedling damaged during transplant - should I treat it like a cutting?

[Vegetable]

Two weeks from seed, the plant's stem was fractured while upgrading to a larger pot. Above the fracture is about 2.5" of healthy-looking stem, then the starter leaves, the first real leaf pair, and the tiny beginnings of the second leaf pair, all looking green and healthy.

Below the fracture, the stem looks paler (plant was a little stretched, thus the decision to transplant). It fractured all the way through, so no splints or casts could be put on in hope of re-bonding (stem is maybe 1mm in diameter).

Currently have the bottom half (roots & stem) in soil, though I'm not expecting much new growth out of the old stem. The top half is suspended in a glass of water under a CFL. I have had success with cuttings in water before (basil, green onion, prayer plant) and hope that I can treat the fractured piece as such.

Any and all advice would be appreciated. Can I treat this as a cutting (will it develop new roots, which I can transplant back into soil?) or is this seedling too young? First plant, so be gentle if this a simple one. Thanks!

 

[dirtWeevil]

it should root, you can use some root powder and stick it in some seed starter, keep the medium moist til it roots. Did the leaves go limp? It may root in the water I've not tried that with cannabis

 

[Bareback]

I've never done it but I think it would work. I use clone x , split the stem 1/2", plus a little scratching on that 1/2" . Remember at this point it really wants to make roots. Good luck

 

[Vegetable]

Thanks for the reply weevil + bareback. The leaves are still looking strong, no loss of colour or rigidity. I actually think the first set of leaves (not the starters) may have turned a bit to the light-source since the plant was placed in water.

Should I just toss the root ball + stem attached to it? Or is there some hope that it may start a whole new plant structure with new starter leaves etc.? Would be great to accidentally come away from this with two plants where I before had one haha. Have the roots buried in moist soil with ~ 1cm of stem sticking out for now.

Going to try to grab some hormone tomorrow morning - do you folks think I'm better off trying to root in water or in soil? I'm working with untreated potting soil + perlite + worm castings.

 

[Bareback]

Thanks for the reply weevil + bareback. The leaves are still looking strong, no loss of colour or rigidity. I actually think the first set of leaves (not the starters) may have turned a bit to the light-source since the plant was placed in water.

Should I just toss the root ball + stem attached to it? Or is there some hope that it may start a whole new plant structure with new starter leaves etc.? Would be great to accidentally come away from this with two plants where I before had one haha. Have the roots buried in moist soil with ~ 1cm of stem sticking out for now.

Going to try to grab some hormone tomorrow morning - do you folks think I'm better off trying to root in water or in soil? I'm working with untreated potting soil + perlite + worm castings.

I say if the root grows a new set of leaves your the luckiest person on earth, time to buy lotto tickets lol.

I've used rooting powder and it's a helluva lot cheaper than gel. But be sure not to breathe it and don't cake it on. Maybe even watch some videos on cloning. Now if your interested their is some diy bubble cloner ideas , humidity domes ideas ........

 

[dirtWeevil]

I've seen it happen before, but only once and it didn't make it long, a new stalk tried to grow, it started as a bump on the broken stem then grew a tiny leaf. If I had coddled it it may have made it. Rare but possible I suppose.

 

[OldMedUser]

Thanks for the reply weevil + bareback. The leaves are still looking strong, no loss of colour or rigidity. I actually think the first set of leaves (not the starters) may have turned a bit to the light-source since the plant was placed in water.

Should I just toss the root ball + stem attached to it? Or is there some hope that it may start a whole new plant structure with new starter leaves etc.? Would be great to accidentally come away from this with two plants where I before had one haha. Have the roots buried in moist soil with ~ 1cm of stem sticking out for now.

Going to try to grab some hormone tomorrow morning - do you folks think I'm better off trying to root in water or in soil? I'm working with untreated potting soil + perlite + worm castings.

As long as the base plant has one grow tip on it it will grow into a whole plant faster than waiting on rooting the top so you'll have 2 plants if the top roots. Already has a root system so will grow fast once it gets a few more leaves out to catch the light.

I've tossed a broken off tip into a pail of water in the grow room and had it root or stuck a small branch in a hole on top of a DWC tub and it's rooted too. When I take cuttings to make clones I dip in gel then powder and that works great with 100% rooted every time. No one way to do any of this stuff.

 

[Vegetable]

Happy to share that the severed "top" of this plant has recovered spectacularly. It was suspended in a cup of water for the past 5 days, and by this afternoon, had ~8 fairly chunky looking roots developing normally.

Noticed that the starter leaves began to yellow, which I figured was likely due to a nutritional deficiency as the plant had little access to nutrients while growing in water. Transplanted to a combo of worm casting, perlite & soil, as plant structure seemed to be properly developed and the little one seems hungry.

 

[OldMedUser]

When the bottom leaves of cuttings start going yellow it's because the roots are starting and the cut is going into veg mode and drawing nutes from the bottom leaves to feed the new growth.

You were 100% right to plant it where it can get some food.

 

[cookie master]

At that age I dont think it has the hormones raging and stuff to recover, best to tape it back onto the stem and roots it has. I saw your success, good job.

 

[Vegetable]

A couple photos for the experts to consider. Yellowing is somewhat concerning, is this a healthy looking plant?

 

[Bareback]

It should recover just be patient, and good luck

 

[Vegetable]

Fantastic! I'm not stranger to the required patience of watching your vegetables grow.
First feeding (at half strength, perhaps even less) is scheduled for the end of this week, though it's tempting to start sooner

 

[OldMedUser]

Fantastic! I'm not stranger to the required patience of watching your vegetables grow.
First feeding (at half strength, perhaps even less) is scheduled for the end of this week, though it's tempting to start sooner

The mix you planted it in has enough food to keep it happy for a while. Tossing nutes in right away is not advised. I'd let it go a couple weeks before feeding any more. Give it time to get a decent root system and grow a couple more nodes. Those tiny yellow leaves will be falling off in a bit and that's perfectly normal. 1/4 strength will be lots for a first feed.

 

[Bareback]

The mix you planted it in has enough food to keep it happy for a while. Tossing nutes in right away is not advised. I'd let it go a couple weeks before feeding any more. Give it time to get a decent root system and grow a couple more nodes. Those tiny yellow leaves will be falling off in a bit and that's perfectly normal. 1/4 strength will be lots for a first feed.

Hey old med I like your new avatar.
And your reply is well worded, OP would be advised two listen .