After growing in our nice warm, sheltered polytunnels for several weeks, these baby plants suddenly make their overnight journey to your garden and then find themselves planted outside and battling the elements. It’s a stressful time for them and they may show this in their foliage within a few days of being planted.
You might see signs of stress appearing as any of the below:
- Yellow leaves
- Wilting
- Brown, papery patches on leaves
- Whitish streaks on leaves
- Purple/pink edges around leaves
Whilst the plants are still young and vulnerable, this is likely to happen when conditions are somewhat unfavourable – cold nights, strong winds, not enough water.
However, plants are fairly resilient, and they WANT to grow. So, if you see any sign that your plants are stressed, just keep nurturing them. Shelter them from the wind, protect them from the cold, and make sure they don’t get thirsty. You should be able to see that new foliage coming through is a strong and healthy green, and this is always a good sign that actually, in spite of the sad looking older foliage, your little plants are doing quite well and heading for a full recovery.