Kumquats seedlings dying

[martweb]

Many of my Kumquat seedlings are dying. I think I do not keep them too wet or too dry. What could be the reasons?

[Galatians522]

Maybe its a light issue. I imagine things are a bit dark in Germany this time of year, especially in doors.

[caladri]

Do you have pictures of any of them in the dying process? There may be something visually significant for diagnosis, but I'm not quite sure. I've had little trouble with most citrus seedlings, at all times of year and in all kinds of media. Sometimes there do seem to be weaker seeds or bad conditions transiently, but it's difficult to just make a guess out of nowhere. Fungal issues, excess cold, too much light, and drying out completely are the issues I've had besides things which seemed to just be not viable in the first place.

(Now, my experiences with Citropsis and with Aegle marmelos run quite the other direction!)

[poncirsguy]

kumquat seedlings need more and brighter light to grow and because the grow so slowly they are much more prone to damp off

[martweb]

The seedlings are starting to wilt and then die. I don't think it's a light issue.

[sc4001992]

I would put them in larger pots, then less issues. Looks like mold, drying out, or too much moisture, can't tell until you pull it out a seedling from those small starter pots.

[Ilya11]

All roots are probably rotten

[David Kipps]

Simply the size of pot wouldn't be doing that by itself.  I suspect damping off type fungal infection starting at soil surface level.  Check for browning of stem color right at soil surface (or slightly below/above) occurring first before rest of plant.  I've lost many that way.

[Galatians522]

Now that I see the picture, I agree that it looks like root rot. Citrus nurseries use very fast draining soil.

[LazarusLong714]

Hi all.  Sorry to butt in on this one, as I don't have anything constructive to ADD to this conversation.    Pretty new to this hobby myself, still learning.

I would like to ask a question.   CALADRI, you listed a bunch of things that could possibly be causing the problem the OP is experiencing, and you listed "too much light" as potential cause.    Could you, or anyone, please clarify or define "too much light"?   I am using artificial light on my seedlings and have lost 2 of 24, which I wasn't stressing about, but I don't have my light on a timer and my "on" time varies from 14 to 18 hours a day.    Should I have a specific time range targeted?

  MARTWEB,  How old are your seedlings?  how do you water (soak?, daily? intermittently? allow to dry in between waterings? )  Are you also fertilizing with watering?    How many seedlings did you start with?
    wishing you luck with yours.  They seem to be slow growing, the "grocery store" lemon seeds I planted a month afterwards are twice, or a little more, than my Kumquat seedlings, so I have had to adjust my expectations a little.        Don't give up! 
     Lazarus.

[Millet]

I go along with David Kipps, that the seedling has the fungi damping off, caused by the fungus rhizoctonia, Pythium or fusarium.  This problem is caused by over wet soil in cool conditions. There is nothing you can do about it now.   To avoid this from happing again, after watering place the container in a sunny window after each watering, so the top surface of the soil quickly dries.

[poncirsguy]

Too much light is impossible.

[brian]

Citrus seem to be able to handle full sun with no problem at all. 

I have seen a lot of citrus small seedlings die off.   Every time I start a batch of kumquat or trifoliate seedlings I usually lose a third of them or more without any obvious cause.   The soil/fungal explanation makes the most sense to me.

[sc4001992]

The weak ones die, the strong ones survive. I plant all my seeds in a community pot and the ones that remain are the strongest. Also applies to loquat seeds I plant.