Difference Between a Seed Leaf and a True Leaf

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cucumber leaf

If you are starting your garden from seeds, you need to know what the difference is between a seed leaf and a true leaf. Seed leaves are actually called cotyledons. The cotyledons come directly from the seed and are the food reserve for the seedling. The first true leaves emerge several days after the cotyledons.

It is important to know what a a true leaf is since you don’t want to transplant a seedling until it has it’s first true leaves. The first true leaves will resemble more of what the adult plant looks like. In the above picture of a cucumber seedling, the heart shaped leaf is a true leaf. The other two more rounded leaves are cotyledons.

cotyledon

This picture shows a cucumber and a muskmelon seedling next to each other. They look very similar at this point! Most cotyledons have the oval shape to them.

If you are planting from seed, make sure to take note of the cotyledons! The transplant process will be much more successful if you wait for the true leaves to emerge.

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Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.

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  1. […] that our seedlings have their true leaves, we need to start the hardening off process. Seedlings need to be acclimated to life outside the […]