I need help with potting up moringa

I managed to start some moringa in the house. I hardened them off, and they have been hanging out in the direct sin in their little 2" pots. Not surprising they have survived, but not growing. I have been trying to pot them up. The first one was kind of sickly. I put it in a small 16" deep planter with a bunch of flowers I almost killed. I think of this little planter as the survivors club. This little one actually looks a little better,  I planted the next one on the back of one of my garden beds. It get morning  sun and afternoon shade. It's only been a few days, but it's dropped all of it's leaves. I thought there may be some transplant shock. That's why I have been trying to get them planted this week, because it's been a bit cooler. I planted one in a 25 gallon pot. I put straw around the pot not touching the little tree. This one looks like it's about to loose its leaves too.
I have two more to plant. I can't leave them in there tiny pots, but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. All the pots have good soil. The one in full sun is next to the one that is doing ok. I'm going to keep watering them and treat them like they are still alive, and hope they will bounce back.
Please let me know if you have any advice, or suggestions. I had planned on planting the last two on the ground in the chicken yard with a protective cover. Now I'm not sure.
Thanks

Pics?

Sorry for the crummy photos, I went out to take pictures, and this needed weeding, and that needed water, and, and, and... before I knew it it was getting dark. I'm thinking the ones in the small pots are getting over watered and and maybe just run out of nutrients.
I'm not sure why potting them up makes all the leaves fall off. Maybe they were already under stress and potting up was just more than they could take?  I will continue to care for them until I'm positive they are dead. the one that is starting to grow new leaves looked pretty sad for a while.
I do realize at least part of the problem is these little guys should have been potted up, or planted a long time ago. Unfortunately it just didn't happen, but I hope I can save what I have.
Thanks

When I started moringa from seed I'm pretty sure I waited until it was warm out if not hot here, so May at least, and after soaking overnight planting an inch deep, maybe a half inch? in a 3" or 4" pot....out in the sun and heat....I probably had them in a tray to water from the bottom as that's what I usually do.
I really can't remember how big they were when I transplanted them to the big tubs but seems like they grew fast and I think heat was the reason.

My original seed was from Baker Creek and I think there were 15 seeds and all germinated.

Your season is longer so I wondered why you started them indoors?
Maybe too many shocks in a row caused leaf loss?
I don't remember that happening here, just that they grew very fast and needed to be watered fairly often.

I do have occasional yellow leaves on these old roots but no leaf loss.

Maybe it's because my roots are old now but it seems like they take my lifting and storing pretty well and continue to regrow the next season out...still, I wait for a good warm up to reset them in the tubs and water well.

I think that last one looks great and maybe the others will set new leaves...don't give up😊

thanks everyone. I won't give up. Maybe next year I will direct sow and see if I get better results. This is my second attempt. The first time I started very late. They actually started off pretty good, but died because I didn't keep it watered.
If I can manage to get moringa to grow, I would like to have little trees all over the place. I ferment grains for my chickens, and I would love to be able to grow enough to feed fresh leaves while they grow, and dry enough to powder and add to the grains in the months there aren't fresh leaves. I would also like to have enough for my family and I to eat. So I would really like to figure this out.
Thanks

Heat is everything with moringa honestly. Mine sulked for weeks in pots until we got a proper heatwave and then suddenly took off like nothing happened. The leaf drop on potting up sounds like they were already stressed from the small pots and the root disturbance was just the last straw. Direct sowing when the soil is properly warm might save you a lot of grief, they really hate having their taproot messed with.

The moringa I planted by itself in the 25 gallon pot looks dead. I left it in place, but I will be very surprised if it is alive.
After reading all your great comments I decided to try again. I took my healthiest one ( that didn't look that good) I removed it from the pot as carefully as I could as to not disturb the roots. I planted it in the 25 gallon pot. I put a cage made of hardware cloth, and draped a piece of shade cloth over the top.  This seems to have helped. No leaf loss, no change. My plan is to keep it watered,  and hopefully it will start to grow. If it does I will slowly begin to remove the shade cloth starting on the east side. I did not realize moringa was sensitive to root disturbance. This could totally be why I've had so much trouble. The shade is just a little insurance to keep stress down while it adjusts to it's new home.
I also bought more seeds. I know it's pretty late, but seeds are not to expensive, and we have hot weather through September, and it is usually nice and warm in October, often into November. It's worth a try. I will just keep trying until I have a bunch of Moringa trees.
Thanks everyone for all your help.

Jen Fulkerson wrote:I managed to start some moringa in the house. I hardened them off, and they have been hanging out in the direct sin in their little 2" pots. Not surprising they have survived, but not growing. I have been trying to pot them up. The first one was kind of sickly. I put it in a small 16" deep planter with a bunch of flowers I almost killed. I think of this little planter as the survivors club. This little one actually looks a little better,  I planted the next one on the back of one of my garden beds. It get morning  sun and afternoon shade. It's only been a few days, but it's dropped all of it's leaves. I thought there may be some transplant shock. That's why I have been trying to get them planted this week, because it's been a bit cooler. I planted one in a 25 gallon pot. I put straw around the pot not touching the little tree. This one looks like it's about to loose its leaves too.
I have two more to plant. I can't leave them in there tiny pots, but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. All the pots have good soil. The one in full sun is next to the one that is doing ok. I'm going to keep watering them and treat them like they are still alive, and hope they will bounce back.
Please let me know if you have any advice, or suggestions. I had planned on planting the last two on the ground in the chicken yard with a protective cover. Now I'm not sure.
Thanks

You’re doing a lot right, so don’t give up on them yet. Moringa can be very sensitive after transplanting and dropping leaves is quite common while they adjust.

Keep the soil lightly moist but avoid overwatering, make sure there is good drainage, and give them some protection from harsh sun while they recover. For the last two, transplant gently and disturb the roots as little as possible.

They may just need time to settle. Moringa are tough plants once established, so hopefully your little “survivors club” will bounce back soon. 🌱

that's good news Jen!
And not too late for seeds since you can grow them outdoors there year round.

I have not found the roots sensitive though since here I have to lift them and store indoors over the winter.
It might be the difference in young plants and older large roots as I am always breaking bits off and then I use a brush to clean the soil from them.  This season I have one that is just a chunk of a root sending up leaves.

I bet your new seed will pop up quickly....I remember soaking overnight first as recommended on my baker creek seeds.

I'm so excited 😊 I checked  the Moringa, and saw the wheat sprouting, and that amused me, but then I see two Moringa trees. I was sure the first one was dead, and you can see the little dead stem. Next to the dead stem is a new stem. I was only going to plant one tree in this pot. They are pretty close together, definitely less than ideal, but I'm going to leave them. If they survive maybe this winter I will separate them, but for now I'm not going to push my luck.
This gives me hope for the other one I planted. It still looks like a dead stick, but I will continue to care for it just in case it sends up a new shoot too.

Do y'all think moringa would sprout through a pine needle mulch? I left my unmulched, and I think they got shaded out by weeds. The below pic was before I ran out of weeding time... It became a jungle before I removed all known weeds, and mulched it. Hope hope hoping that they hadn't even sprouted yet.

Jen, where did you buy your seeds from? I may be needing more.

The moringa growing now think I bought from Bakers Creek I got about 75% gremination, probably my error? I watched a YouTuber and he swore by the method of removing the husk, soaking for 24 hours and planting on a heat mat. I gave this method a shot. I got better germination than not removing the husk, but not as good as he got.
This last order was from Amazon. I was in a hurry. 100 seeds for $8.99 for planting. I haven't planted them yet, so have no idea if they are good.

Some strange and interesting developments with my moringa. The moringa in the survivors pot looks healthy, but hasn't grown at all from what I can tell. Everything else is doing well.  The two Moringa in the large pot look good and are growing.  I have very slowly pulled back the shade cloth.   At this time the shade cloth is only on the west side protecting against the brutal afternoon sun. I plan to eventually remove the shade cloth, but watch closely to make sure everything is okay.

For some reason the moringa in the garden bed didn't come back.  One of the two I potted up grew a new stem.
Thanks to your great advice I think I can pot up, or transplant. I just have to be very careful not to disturb the roots, at all. but if I do, to treat it like it's still alive, and at least 50%of the time (this time anyway) it will grow a new stem/ Trunk.

I keep meaning to plan the seeds I bought, but just haven't managed it.
Thanks again everyone for helping me

Jen Fulkerson wrote:Some strange and interesting developments with my moringa. The moringa in the survivors pot looks healthy, but hasn't grown at all from what I can tell. Everything else is doing well.  The two Moringa in the large pot look good and are growing.  I have very slowly pulled back the shade cloth.   At this time the shade cloth is only on the west side protecting against the brutal afternoon sun. I plan to eventually remove the shade cloth, but watch closely to make sure everything is okay.

For some reason the moringa in the garden bed didn't come back.  One of the two I potted up grew a new stem.
Thanks to your great advice I think I can pot up, or transplant. I just have to be very careful not to disturb the roots, at all. but if I do, to treat it like it's still alive, and at least 50%of the time (this time anyway) it will grow a new stem/ Trunk.

I keep meaning to plan the seeds I bought, but just haven't managed it.
Thanks again everyone for helping me

I think your moringa plants look great.  You might want to slowly increase their sun exposure. During the post transplant period, it was important to be more protective. Now they need sunlight to grow. Moringa loves sun.  Moringa plants grow best in 70°F to 95°F temperatures. Growth will slow when temperatures drop below 60°F. Moringa plants  go dormant and stop growing below 40°F. Plants this young will need to be kept indoors when temperatures are freezing.  Much older plants can withstand a freeze.