Droopy leaves--overwatered?

I've got a bunch of plants growing and most all are looking fine but there's 4 that seem stunted and exhibit droopy leaves on occasion. Seems like classic overwatering symptoms but I'm not 100% sure so thought I'd post a pic. and ask.

I planted about 30 Cherry Wine plants from seed back in April and am now in week 12 of veg. After the first week they've spent most of their time outside in the sun. When they were in 2g nursery pots, I noticed a few of them were noticeably smaller in stature with smaller leaves. Based on pot weight I guessed that those may have been overwatered a bit. I tried to let them dry out but they seemed slow to dry. In week 10 I transplanted everything into the ground except for those problem plants--figured I try and let those pots dry out some more before transplanting. Finally last week I put 2 in the ground and 2 in fabric pots. The root balls were noticeably smaller than the rest of the plants and the soil was still fairly wet. Some of the roots weren't bright white either but had some slight brown discoloring--figured the roots weren't getting enough air. Soil in the ground is native soil amended (sandy loam with some compost, perlite, and other amendments), soil in fabric pots is Coast of Maine Stonington.

They're now in their second week since transplanting. They seemed better a few days after transplanting but yesterday I noticed these 4 drooping again. We just had 2 inches of rain this weekend, although I did move the fabric pots under cover so they could continue to dry out. You figure based on the picture below that the roots are still soggy?

What's throwing me is that when I checked them at dusk they looked much perkier--and also early this morning. Almost seemed like the sun was causing the droopiness, although I'm not sure why that would be. I

What do you think...just keep trying to let them dry out and hope for the best? Do you think these are going to be permanently stunted or will they potentially recover and start growing like the others (which seem very happy)?

Any suggestions? Thanks. My best diagnosis is that they got overwatered around week 8 or so and have never had a chance to fully dry out since then. But I could be wrong.

they dont look overwatered to me and in that size pot youd need a lot of water to even get close to overwatered. its something else

go go kid said:

they dont look overwatered to me and in that size pot youd need a lot of water to even get close to overwatered. its something else

Click to expand...

Any thoughts as to what else might be going on?

Just checked on them at lunchtime--light overcast with some filtered sunlight--looking droopy again after they seemed perfectly fine early this morning.

So it seems to correspond to the light. Hmmm. Does the light overwhelm them? Struggling to photosynthesize? Wish I knew what exactly was going on here.

I'm thinking some kind of root issue, possibly root rot.. Let them continue to dry..

So can someone explain why they seem to only droop when the sun is out? Leaves trying to transpire but roots not keeping up?

After some more research I think I understand the wilting a little more. Basically when the sun comes out the plant is trying to transpire, drawing water up through its roots and then evaporating on the underside of the leaves. But not enough water is being absorbed by the roots, either because they're underdeveloped or because they're compromised by disease or something. So the plant starts to go limp.

Fortunately I'm not seeing any discoloration of the leaves, which is a good sign, but these plants are definitely struggling. Hopefully whatever's ailing the roots gets better soon.

Update: a week and a half later and they still get a little droopy when the sun is out. I haven't watered them at all during that time. Soil feels fairly dry on top but still slightly moist below. Not seeing a lot of growth either. Thinking I should stay the course and continue to let them dry out as much as possible. But starting to wonder if they'll ever recover and start growing. Leaves are much smaller than the other plants and at this point they're about a third the size.

Thoughts?

Here's one of the ones in a fabric pot during a hot afternoon yesterday:



And here's one in the ground: