Damaged seedling stem no longer standing

Hi, I accidentally knocked against my seedling and the stem seems to be damaged as it was originally standing fully up right at about 8cm tall but now it is leaning over towards the edges of the pot and can no longer support itself up on its own. I have placed a pencil horizontally on the pot and the stem is now resting against the pencil and standing up for now with it’s support, but I am worried this will not be enough nor a permanent solution and that it might not survive. This is my first ever attempt at growing so I have no real idea of how this will turn out and I am grateful for any advice. The photo I have attached shows the pencil supporting the stem, but when I remove the pencil the stem immediately returns to its bent/leaning stance.

Re-plant it with the stem buried 1/2 or a little better in the soil. That will fix the stretch. Lower the lights after that, I don't know what lights you have so I can't say how close but prob about 18".

Looks like you have some room to add more soil for support. Once the plant can stand up on its own try a light breeze to strengthen it. Also like tslonige said lowering the lights will help with stretching. Good luck.

Lights being too far away can cause stretching so try to keep it as close as you can without causing it to burn the plant/seedling.
Put your arm between the light and plant...if you feel heat the plant will too...adjust from there.
The seedling looks old enough to be re potted so you may be able to gain a little support by burring the stem just up past the bent part, but I'd still support it for a few days to be sure.
Good luck and happy growin'

tslonige said:

Re-plant it with the stem buried 1/2 or a little better in the soil. That will fix the stretch. Lower the lights after that, I don't know what lights you have so I can't say how close but prob about 18".

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Tslonige, thank you very much for your help! I am using a 110W household CFL bulb along with a CFL bulb I found at home but am unaware of what exactly Wattage that one is. I have them placed very close to the seedling, within a couple inches. I have checked to make sure there isn’t too much heat. Anything else I should know with regards to lighting in future?

Mak'er Grow said:

Lights being too far away can cause stretching so try to keep it as close as you can without causing it to burn the plant/seedling.
Put your arm between the light and plant...if you feel heat the plant will too...adjust from there.
The seedling looks old enough to be re potted so you may be able to gain a little support by burring the stem just up past the bent part, but I'd still support it for a few days to be sure.
Good luck and happy growin'

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Thank you very much for your advice. At first, I had the lighting too far away from the plant but the past week or so, the plant has been very close to my CFL bulbs, within 4/5 inches roughly, so close that I accidentally knocked the lamp and it hit the seedling as it fell over! I’m going to leave it in this pot and support it for a while, but afterwards how would you suggest I go about re-potting?

TokoLoco said:

Looks like you have some room to add more soil for support. Once the plant can stand up on its own try a light breeze to strengthen it. Also like tslonige said lowering the lights will help with stretching. Good luck.

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Thanks a million for your response. I don’t have any soil I could add at the moment, and I’m not even aware of what type of soil is in the pot currently. What type of soil would you suggest I add, as I have no access to more of the same type? Thanks again!

Jackmiggles said:

Thank you very much for your advice. At first, I had the lighting too far away from the plant but the past week or so, the plant has been very close to my CFL bulbs, within 4/5 inches roughly, so close that I accidentally knocked the lamp and it hit the seedling as it fell over! I’m going to leave it in this pot and support it for a while, but afterwards how would you suggest I go about re-potting?

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I'd try to keep about the same size just a little taller so more soil can be added and also you wont run into over watering problems like you might with a bigger pot.

Jackmiggles said:

Thanks a million for your response. I don’t have any soil I could add at the moment, and I’m not even aware of what type of soil is in the pot currently. What type of soil would you suggest I add, as I have no access to more of the same type? Thanks again!

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Any friends that have house plants...go for a visit and fill your pockets...lol
And if you spill any just say the dog did it

Mak'er Grow said:

Any friends that have house plants...go for a visit and fill your pockets...lol

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That’s exactly how I got the soil that’s currently in the pot, filled a sandwich bag full of soil from a house plant I found in my girlfriends parents house lol, thank you once again!

Mak'er Grow said:

I'd try to keep about the same size just a little taller so more soil can be added and also you wont run into over watering problems like you might with a bigger pot.

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I’ll keep that in mind when I am getting a new pot, thank you very much!

If you live in a legal state you can ask the workers in the garden section for help.
Or tell them your growing some other plants/flowers for your girlfriend or something.

Mak'er Grow said:

Any friends that have house plants...go for a visit and fill your pockets...lol
And if you spill any just say the dog did it

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Mak'er Grow said:

If you live in a legal state you can ask the workers in the garden section for help.
Or tell them your growing some other plants/flowers for your girlfriend or something.

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I will do there’s a garden centre not far from where I live, thanks!

I suggest getting some clear first aid tape. Its basically like a roll of bandaid tape. That shit is magic sauce for broken stems The best thing to do when you break a tender stem like that is to sandwich the broken spot between 2 pieces of that tape. The tape seals the wound and supports the break but doesn't choke off the stem as it heals and swells. As it swells it just kind of pushes the 2 pieces of tape apart and growth isn't restricted at all. Removal is easy too, as you just kind of tear it off whenever its healed.

I

Jackmiggles said:

Thanks a million for your response. I don’t have any soil I could add at the moment, and I’m not even aware of what type of soil is in the pot currently. What type of soil would you suggest I add, as I have no access to more of the same type? Thanks again!

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I'm only on my second grow, so no expert. But I would just go for potting soil that doesn't have time release fertilizer. I used stuff called "just natural" from walmart first grow, ocean forest this time, they both work well imo.