seedling
A small young plant that grows from a seed.
A very young plant that has grown from a seed, especially one that has recently sprouted and is still small and delicate.
Something new that is just starting to grow or develop.
A person, organization, idea, or project that is at an early stage of development and not yet established.
- Base: seedling
- Plural: seedlings
seedling bed
1a bed for raising seedlings
A small area of soil used to grow young plants before moving them.
- They raised onion seedlings in a seedling bed and moved them to the field in spring.
- Keep the seedling bed evenly moist until the plants are established.
- The farmer shaded the seedling bed during the hottest part of the day.
- The seedlings grew in a seedling bed.
seedling mix
1soil mix for seedlings
Special soil used for young plants.
- Use seedling mix rather than garden soil to reduce disease and improve drainage.
- The gardener made a seedling mix with coconut coir and perlite.
- I ran out of seedling mix and the seedlings struggled in heavy compost.
- We need seedling mix for the seeds.
seedling plug
1a young plant grown in a cell
A small seedling grown in a little block of soil so it’s easy to move.
- The nursery sells cabbage as seedling plugs for easy transplanting.
- Handle seedling plugs by the leaves to avoid crushing the stems.
- She spaced the seedling plugs evenly along the bed and watered them in.
- I bought seedling plugs to plant in the garden.
seedling stage
1early stage of plant growth
The time when a plant is still a small seedling.
- Most losses happen during the seedling stage, so careful watering matters.
- The herb is slow at the seedling stage but grows quickly once established.
- Pests can wipe out a crop if they attack at the seedling stage.
- The plant is at the seedling stage.
seedling tray
1a tray for growing seedlings
A tray used to grow many small seedlings.
- Fill the seedling tray with moist compost and press the seeds gently into the surface.
- She moved the seedling tray to a sunny windowsill to keep the plants from stretching.
- Once the seedlings had two true leaves, he transplanted them out of the seedling tray.
- I planted the seeds in a seedling tray.