I have a seed that is reporting that cannot grow, but is growing:

There is a torch directly next to it. Using the Magnifying Glass will show that:

Looks like it's showing an incorrect light value...

I have not run into this issue personally, and will need to investigate.

The important question is though, does the plant still grow?

Yes, it still growing.

Interesting that it is still growing. Luckily, this gives me a comparison point that should make debugging the issue a whole lot easier.

Is this on a mp server?

Yes

Probably a sponge forge issue then. Little of little thinks like that are caused by spongeforge

This was tested in a pure forge server.