transplanting young cacti - moist media or dry

[peter831shaw]

transplanting small young seedlings from a seed flat.

since young plants are usually grown pretty wet do you recommend planting into dry or moist media?

thanks

Peter

[esp]

Probably no right answer here - I often fine seedlings at 1 year or so are very forgiving - but occasionally very delicate, sometimes surprisingly so.
I tend to get them fairly dry to pot on, but water soon after. I normally use quite a dry mix. Partly because it can be poured/placed into position around small root systems easily.

[Chris L]

I always transplant my seedlings when dry. It is easier that way - no horrible soggy compost to try and split up and the roots can be teased into their new home with minimal risk of damage.

Transplanting when wet can be done, but I would only do it in an emergency, for small seedlings. There needs to be plenty of compost around the root. You need to lift as much soil as you can and place the whole lot in the new compost, treating almost like a plug. If you damage a root then the plant may die.

[Nick_G]

Like most things I don't think it really matters. If I'm potting young seedlings into a non mineral mix I pot dry root plants into a moist potting mix. It's just easier. I make a hole in the compost with a pencil and drop them in. Saves a lot of time. If it's a mineral mix then both plant and mix are dry. Just easier again. I don't worry if I damage the roots too much.