Potted Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) - Help Needed!

[Jim]

Hello,

Please forgive my ignorance, but I have a question concerning the health of potted Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) saplings, and I hope someone here can help.

For years I have been potting these small saplings and they have done quite well outdoors. This year I potted some and brought them inside and placed them under a 1000 watt metal halide grow light. They budded and began to leaf out, but now the small leaves are appearing to crumple and discolor. I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I cannot afford to have them die on me. I wanted to bring them in to get a jump on the growing season. Can anyone suggest anything? Watering or fertilizer regimen, different light, number of light hours?

[Higgs Boson]

Were they too close to/ too far from the grow light? Did you check the recommended distance? Is there too much salt in the medium? Is medium sufficiently acidic? Is there room in the containers for taproot and lateral root development?

At this URL:

is a ton of information, including soil requirements, and light/ shade requirements at different stages of growth (but relating to forest habitat; I didn't see anything about containers)

Good luck!

HB

HB