We’ll definitely be repeating this one come time for transplanting into the garden, but let us demonstrate what transplant shock looks like in the indoor garden setting.
You’ve probably heard of the term transplant shock, but despite being familiar with the concept, it’s something that catches a lot of new gardeners by surprise. The experience is literally in the name, transplant shock. Or, shock that the seedling or young plant will go through upon being transplanted.
Our experience is that transplant shock is a bit more muted in the “perfect” indoor garden setting, at least compared to more severe shock when we transplant outdoors. It doesn’t always hit all plants, either. But, the process can make our seedlings look like they just got hit by a truck. Enough that it often alarms the newer gardener.
If you give the plant what it needs, nice moist soil, it will recover from this just fine. We also make it a point to provide our seedlings with a very light dose of water soluble fertilizer when transplanting as this significantly helps to mitigate the shock. If the plant has what it needs, it will recover from this just fine in a day or two.
What you definitely don’t want to do is provide the seedling with dry (or partially dry) soil or other conditions (like hot or cold temperatures) that will exacerbate issues during this time. You also don’t want to prescribe heavy fertilizers or other major changes to your soil. Your plants simply need a bit of time to recover, but once they get used to their new digs, they will be just as happy as they were before you transplanted.
In general, we advise that the gardener not be highly reactionary to their plants. Plants are what we’d describe as “moody,” meaning they show their problems visually and even the smallest event can make them look like they got beat up. It’s often much better to do nothing and see how problems evolve over time. Often, many issues just clear up if you do nothing at all!
Plants are remarkably resilient. But, if the gardener is continually reacting to and changing conditions for the plant, it’s very easy to go “too far” and actually make things worse. That’s why we always tell people to slow down and remember that your plants are working at a much slower time scale than you are.
Good luck with those transplants! Ours are looking much better, even after less than 24 hours!
