It’s probably past time where we should have talked about this topic, but better late than never! And that’s the topic of plant recovery from problems.
Many newer growers inadvertently compare their plants to themselves, as humans. If something went wrong with their plant, such as the development of yellow leaves, they will often try to deduce the problem and correct it. They then expect that plant to heal itself after that problem is corrected, just like a human would!
Well, the bad news is, plants don’t do that! Pretty much any kind of damage that might occur on plants is permanent. Those leaves will remain yellow, no matter what you do. This is true of almost all plant problems, except underwatering, which can often be corrected if its dealt with soon enough.
But, there is good news. Plants are quite resilient and will put on many more leaves over the course of their lifetimes. Any problems that developed early in the plant’s life will soon be lost to the plant’s growth and full maturity. The earliest plant growth is inconsequential when compared to the plant’s output over the course of its life.
Also, if you’re working towards correcting a problem, you want to observe new growth as a sign of whether you’ve corrected that problem. If the problem continues, even into that new growth, then it’s very likely you still have an underlying issue that you haven’t corrected yet. Always remember, the plant will not “heal itself.”
Lastly, let’s talk about that cotyledon, or the earliest greenery you saw from seed. We never react to any problems with it as it will often wither away and fall off, like you’re seeing in this image. This is totally normal and isn’t representing a problem you need to correct. Remember, that greenery was just there to kick off the initial photosynthesis and that’s it!
We hope all your seedlings are coming in nicely and you’re learning a great deal this season! Keep up the good work, we’re almost to the finish line!
