The following question was sent to the P&PDL diagnosticians here at Purdue University:

Question: I have been trying to grow spruce trees from seeds. If I stratify the seeds I get very good germination but shortly after the seed covers drop off the new seedlings, the roots seem to rot and the seedlings all die. I plant the seeds in commercial potting soil and keep the soil damp. I do the same thing with apple seeds and have the same problem but not nearly as severely. What can I do to prevent this problem? Your help will be appreciated.

Answer: The problem you are having may be damping-off. Several fungal pathogens can attack young seedlings, causing stem collapse, root rot and death. Most commercial seed is treated with a fungicide to protect the developing seedling during and shortly after emergence when it is most vulnerable to damping-off.

You might check your local garden center to see if they carry fungicides to protect seedlings. Fungi that cause damping-off will survive on used potting containers and trays, or within used soil. Make sure you are planting the seed in new containers or ones that have been soaked in a 10% bleach solution for 20 minutes (rinse the containers after the bleach soak to remove residual bleach). Try to keep the potting medium evenly moist but not soaking wet, since some of the fungi that cause damping-off grow best in saturated soils.

--Karen Rane

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