Salvia Seedling Query

The photo below is Salvia Coccinea seedlings about 5 weeks old . My question is the ones in the centre are very pale and small , and have been like this since the first true leaves emerged. I pricked all the "good" ones out this evening and have more than enough. Does any one know the reason for these runts Am I over sowing ....... I sometimes get a similar problem with petunias where some germinate but stay very small and pale.

TIA

 

That is what struck me John , they are all in one place I used B and Q seed compost which I always hand sift before putting into the seed tray. No perlite in this case just surface sowed the seeds and a quick blast of copper fungicide and cover with vermiculite.
Just had a thought they were in my grow box after germinating , I wonder if I have burnt a section on the CFL ? Its all a bit confusing.

 

Harry - I don't know. I have a small pot of Hibiscus syriacus with two germinated seeds in it. One seed grew totally green and normal. But the other seed came up totally white. After a while green patches appeared on the seed leaves and its still going, but not as strongly as the other.

As John said it may well be something with the compost. But I remember reading that not all seeds are perfect. Quite often seeds can form but are not viable, because they were never properly pollinated. I suspect that some seeds can have other in- built problems as well.

 

Thanks Peter , like you say it could be some seed being not 100% perfect. The peculiar thing though is they are mainly in one area , like a tiny crop circle in my seed tray !

 

Must be tiny aliens then.

 

lets not start that thread off again Peter !