How to Prevent Transplant Shock

There’s nothing worse than planting seeds, nurturing your tiny sprouts into healthy seedlings, and then watching half of them die or struggle to survive once they are transplanted. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Figuring out how to prevent transplant shock is one of the key skills in home gardening. It makes the difference between growing your thriving garden, and having to start over with new plants again and again. Check out the three keys to prevent transplant shock.

1. Harden Off Your Plants

The most common cause of transplant shock is putting seedlings you started inside outdoors without properly preparing them. Seeds planted outdoors build up their stem strength and sun and drought tolerance slowly over time. But seedlings that have only known the controlled conditions of a greenhouse with consistent moisture, no wind, and artificial light can struggle outside. The wind can break your plants’ stems. The sun can scald their leaves. Their roots may be too shallow. Any of these problems can set them back weeks in their development.

The best way to prevent transplant shock is to gradually introduce indoor plants to outdoor conditions. You can put your seedlings in a sheltered area outside that only gets sun for a short time each day. Or you can bring your trays of baby plants outside for a few hours at a time, gradually working up to a full day of sun over several days or weeks. Increase the time between watering to encourage robust root growth in the last few weeks before transplanting.

You still need t protect your plants during this process, it’s not all “tough love”. Check your weather report frequently to keep your plants safe from sudden storms or windy conditions and watch them gain strength day by day. Once your plants are fully hardened off, they have the best chance to thrive after transplantation. Their strong stems, hearty leaves, and good roots will give them a great foundation to make the transition outside and grow like crazy.

2. Prevent Shock With Good Conditions

When and how you do your transplanting can also have a big impact on how well your plants do. Here’s a quick list of tips to protect your seedlings delicate roots from damage or drying out:

• Transplant on a cool, cloudy day if possible.
• Take your seedlings out of their trays one at a time. Don’t lay them out on the soil ahead of time to plan your spacing. Get them in the ground as quickly as possible.
• Water your seedlings moderately before transplanting and transplant into pre-moistened soil that forms a crumbly ball in your fist. Then be sure to give your transplants a drink ASAP after they are in place.
• Make sure you are transplanting at the right depth for each plant. You can bury tomatoes up to their leaves, but you should only lightly cover the root balls of most other seedlings.

You need to handle your transplants gently as well. Although you want to transplant quickly, carefully get them out of their pots and into the ground. Hold your plants by the root ball or soil block rather than touching the stems or leaves. Once they are in their new home, press firmly down on the soil around the stem. If you do accidentally break a stem or branch, sometimes you can wrap it with some plant tape and it will survive. But, it can take energy away from your plants’ growth. It may be better for you to remove any damaged leaves or branches if the majority of the plant is intact.

I also like to put some compost in the bottom of each transplant hole to give the plants a boost. If you take care to optimize your transplant conditions, you can prevent transplant shock and give your plants a head start in their future growth. Check your weather forecast and practice transplanting a few times before the big day to prepare.

3. After Transplanting, Baby Your Plants

The final stage to preventing transplant shock is to treat your plants well immediately after you transplant them. They just went through the most stressful experience of their lives so far. Hopefully you transplanted them into good soil and minimized disruption in the process. You gave them an immediate drink right after you settled them in their new home.

Now you need to baby them a little. Cover the ground around your plants with mulch to keep the soil moist and prevent weeds. Water consistently for the first several days to help their roots grow. If your weather forecast is for storms, you might want to provide some extra protection with a plastic container or a low tunnel. If you are expecting high temperatures, then you might want to use some shade cloth and water the soil frequently.

Giving your new plants some love for the first few days or weeks can prevent transplant shock and put them in an excellent position to thrive. Most plants have a little plateau in their growth after transplant, but taking some extra time now can set them up for explosive growth and reduce how much work you have to do once the plants are well established.

So, these three keys to preventing transplant shock will help you keep your garden growing strong all the way to harvest.

Want more info on the ins and outs of transplanting? Check out When Should I Transplant My Seedlings for more tips and tricks.