I have my little vinca seedlings that I accidentally left in full shade for a week after I reported them into little nursery pots. Now they have leaves are turning yellow. Did I kill these plants with rotting the roots? I think the soil stayed moist and never really dried out. Is there a way to salvage them?

Hi @Injusticehope

Welcome to NGA!

I'm sorry to not be of much help but it's hard to say what's causing your vinca seedlings to yellow. Can you give some more details about how you grew the seedlings, their age and size, the medium they were in before and now? Putting them in the shade would be the right thing to do if you were moving them outside after initially growing them inside. Excess water could cause yellowing. Can you unpot one or two to check the condition of the roots? Healthy roots will be white. If they are not completely rotted they may grow new ones when the excess moisture is corrected.

Can you send a picture? That would be helpful.

Best wishes for their recovery!

Pat

Thanks for the warm welcome @Hortaholic. Here's a photo of one of the seedlings. I started them a couple of weeks ago in trays outdoors in Kellogs potting mix, in the shade since it was pretty hot here at the time. They looked very healthy. Repotted them and now it's cooled down a lot (mornings around 65 and high of 85).

Welcome to the site!

It looks pretty normal to me, I would transition them to more sun.

@Injusticehope

Thanks for the photo! This plant looks better than I expected. You've successfully raised it to a good size. Like Rj, I think it will be OK.

The bottom 3 leaves have some brown, dying blotches that look to me like stress reactions. Those leaves will probably die and that's OK.

The paler, more yellow color of the top leaves looks like a need for fertilizer. If the potting mix didn't contain any fertilizer it's time to give it a light dose.

I'm not familiar with Kelloggs. It looks like a composted bark mix. It's holding a lot of moisture. That could also contribute to yellowing by reducing air to the roots. I would let it almost dry out between waterings.

If this kind of vinca gets too dry the first sign will be the leaves starting to roll under at the edges. So, you will get a signal. I've neglected some poor little ones so badly the leaves rolled into tubes! Not recommended, but they did revive.

I'd like to see the leaves looking a richer green before transitioning them to sun. Fertilizer might do that.

This plant is almost big enough to bloom. You'll be rewarded soon.

Pat