What is wrong with my 5 week old seedling?

Jakee123 · Apr 29, 2026

Being grown in happy frog. I transplanted a few days ago and the bottom leaves have since turned yellowish. Also some of the first leaves are crinkly
Also there is one seedling where one of the first leaves is sort of jutting into the stem as shown in the picture. Should I cut this or will the stem eventually straighten out?

GNick55 · Apr 29, 2026

Jakee123 said:
Being grown in happy frog. I transplanted a few days ago and the bottom leaves have since turned yellowish. Also some of the first leaves are crinkly
Also there is one seedling where one of the first leaves is sort of jutting into the stem as shown in the picture. Should I cut this or will the stem eventually straighten out?

just leave them be,.
don’t be over mothering them,..

WinJr63 · Apr 29, 2026

Nothing wrong with plant, let it grow looking good, first true leaves coming out.

greengrower73 · Apr 30, 2026

Jakee123 said:
Being grown in happy frog. I transplanted a few days ago and the bottom leaves have since turned yellowish. Also some of the first leaves are crinkly
Also there is one seedling where one of the first leaves is sort of jutting into the stem as shown in the picture. Should I cut this or will the stem eventually straighten out?

Hi, a few things there I don't like to see with new growers. 1 is the large pot its in. I like up potting 1 pot size at a time. You should still be in 8-12 or 16oz solo cups to start then transplant to a 1 gal then another 2 weeks and into your final pot it helps with watering needs. Its much easier to keep at the moisture level required and get the right dry back in a small pot than in a large pot.

2 your soil looks too heavy, light well aerated soil with maybe 30-40% perlite, maybe 10-15% worm castings

If they are 5 weeks old they probably need a warmer environment than they are in being so short, A minimum of 78f for seedlings, once established they can handle it a bit cooler but I run 78-82f lights on to 68-69f lights off. Good luck

Thumbgreen · Apr 30, 2026

I think this is too small for a 5 week seedlings. Stunt growth?

Ninjadogma · Apr 30, 2026

You might just have a derp seed is all. Your first true node looks like it's throwing clubbed leaves. I can see by the soil shading that we need to talk about watering. There's a wet region and the stem is sitting in the middle of it. What it should look like is a wet ring around the plant away from the stem. When you water, try doing it with a spray bottle set to "stream", and spray in a circle around the seedling about 2 inches away from the stem all the way around. As the plant grows you will expand that watering ring to fall on the dirt roughly where the leaf tips extend to. This is what is called a plant's drip line.

The warble on first node is different than the clubbed leaves at the second. That warble is usually uneven cell growth very common in seedlings while they are figuring out their calcium regulation and they outgrow it. Don't worry too much about the cotyledons yellowing. That is supposed to happen, but not too quickly. The cotyledons carry all the nutrients the plant is eating until they can pull them up from their young roots. Overwatering and overfeeding will make them yellow prematurely.

A little seedling in a big pot isn't the problem some people think it is. You care for it as if it's growing in the ground, so you're watering the drip line and not the whole pot. Until the roots properly occupy the medium, that's how you should water.

Wlee8999 · Apr 30, 2026

Yeah they look like normal seedlings just stay the course. At this point of growth what really matters for you going forward is happening underground. Once they have a good root system established they’ll start taking off like you want just keep conditions good !

greengrower73 · May 1, 2026

Ninjadogma said:
You might just have a derp seed is all. Your first true node looks like it's throwing clubbed leaves. I can see by the soil shading that we need to talk about watering. There's a wet region and the stem is sitting in the middle of it. What it should look like is a wet ring around the plant away from the stem. When you water, try doing it with a spray bottle set to "stream", and spray in a circle around the seedling about 2 inches away from the stem all the way around. As the plant grows you will expand that watering ring to fall on the dirt roughly where the leaf tips extend to. This is what is called a plant's drip line.

The warble on first node is different than the clubbed leaves at the second. That warble is usually uneven cell growth very common in seedlings while they are figuring out their calcium regulation and they outgrow it. Don't worry too much about the cotyledons yellowing. That is supposed to happen, but not too quickly. The cotyledons carry all the nutrients the plant is eating until they can pull them up from their young roots. Overwatering and overfeeding will make them yellow prematurely.

A little seedling in a big pot isn't the problem some people think it is. You care for it as if it's growing in the ground, so you're watering the drip line and not the whole pot. Until the roots properly occupy the medium, that's how you should water.

I disagree with being in a large pot. It can cause watering issues as dry soil wicks water away from root tips and roots don't grow into dry soil. Someone with experience can use a large pot but to learn watering properly a small pot is easier, get the proper dry backs and regular watering.

What is wrong with my 5 week old seedling?

What is wrong with my 5 week old seedling?

Jakee123

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