by johnah on November 24, 2020
What Are The Symptoms Of A Root Bound Plant?
A plant may look healthy but it’s actually not. Sometimes even when a plant looks healthy, its leaves are dying or wilting.
What causes this?
It could be due to several reasons such as too much water, low light level, improper watering method, poor soil quality and so on. When a plant starts showing signs of being root bound, the first thing that comes into your mind is to do something about it immediately!
How To Get A Root Bound Plant Out Of Its Pot?
The first thing you need to do is to remove the pot from the wall. You will have to use some tools and a hammer, but then once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to take care of all other things. Here are the steps that you should follow:
1) Take off the lid of your pot and place it somewhere where it won’t cause damage later.
2) Use a hammer to break up the bottom of the pot.
Be careful not to hit any pipes or wires inside the pot.
3) Once you’ve broken up the bottom of the pot, you’re ready to go!
Now just wait until it dries out completely before re-potting it.
4) Remove all of your plant material from around the base of your plant and carefully pull them away with tweezers.
5) Carefully slide the root ball out and place it in your new container.
6) Dump a little bit of soil in the bottom of the container.
7) Place half of your root ball in the container and gently push down to secure it into place.
8) Spread some more soil in the container and press down on it to secure it into place.
9) Spread some more soil over the container and press down on it again.
10) Spread a handful of root tone into the container and tap it against the soil to loosen it up.
11) Place your plant in your container and spread a little bit of root tone on top of the soil.
12) Water the plant well and place it in a shaded area for about a week, make sure that you don’t over water it! Over watering is bad, but under-watering is worse.
That’s it! You have successfully repotted your plant. Good job!
How To Deal With Root Bound Plants: How To Pot A Root Bound Plant
You need to learn how to take care of rootbound plants if you want to keep them alive and healthy. One of the most common problems for a lot of plant owners is that they are not aware that their plants are rootbound, so they don’t do anything about it.
The way to deal with root bound plants is to re-pot them and give them more room for their roots to grow. This step is important because if you don’t do it, then it’s going to be almost impossible to grow healthy plants. Once your plant’s roots have filled the pot that they are in, then they start growing through it and when this happens you have what is known as a “root bound” plant. This means that your plant is not getting the nutrients that it needs because the roots are constricted in the pot.
So what you need to do is to re-pot it into a container that has plenty of space for the roots to grow and develop properly.
How Do You Know If Your Plant Is Root Bound?
The most common symptoms that your plant is root bound are when the top part of the plant starts to become thin as well as stretched out. The leaves on the top of the plant might also start turning yellow. Another sign that your plant is root bound is when you start seeing roots coming out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot or through the sides of it. Sometimes you might not see any signs at all, and you may just want to re-pot the plant for other reasons such as the size of the pot or changing its soil.
When you are repotting a plant, it is always a good idea to take a look at the roots even if you got it from a friend or a store because you might see signs of bugs that are feeding on the roots.
How To Repot A Root Bound Plant
Step 1: Get your new pot ready. This needs to be a larger pot than the one that the plant is in currently. It needs to have extra room for the roots to grow and if you pick a pot that is too small then you will just have to re-pot again in a short period of time.
Step 2: Gently remove the root ball from its pot. If it is really root bound then you might need to cut or break the pot so that you can get it out without damaging the rest of the plant. It is important that you not damage the roots of the plant when you remove it from the pot.
Step 3: Spread some organic material such as shredded bark, compost or soil mix in the bottom of your new pot to provide a good growing material for the roots to spread out in the new pot.
Step 4: Place the plant in the pot and spread out the roots as best you can. If the plant is top heavy or has a large root ball you can place a small plate or something similar under the roots to hold them up so they aren’t resting on the bottom of the pot. This prevents the plant from rotting in the pot due to trapped moisture.
Step 5: Place the organic material that you spread in the bottom of the pot around the sides and over the top of the root system. This will help to retain moisture as well as provide nutrients for the plant. Remember to not fill the pot to the top or place heavy materials on top of the soil, as this could cause the plant to start tipping over which could cause damage to it.
Step 6: Water the plant well to get the new soil nice and moist. Then from there on you just need to keep it consistently moist but not soaked. You also want to make sure that the pot has a drainage hole at the bottom, so that if it gets over-watered, it can drain out excess moisture.
It is also very important to remember to put the plant in a location where it gets plenty of sunlight or at least a lot of light. If the plant does not get enough light it may start to become weak and stretched out and will not bloom very well if at all.
If you are unsure about any of these steps you may want to consider contacting a local nursery or garden center for further assistance.
Have any questions or comments?
Please leave them in the comment box below.
Sources & references used in this article:
A root-bound index for container-grown pines by DB South, RG Mitchell – The Thin Green Line: a Symposium on the …, 2005 – researchgate.net
(111) Establishment of Root-bound Plumbago auriculata Lam. in a Landscape by S Vyapari, EL Thralls, MS Scheiber – HortScience, 2005 – journals.ashs.org
(78) Establishment and Growth of Begonias in the Landscape as Affected by Root Ball Condition at Transplant by SM Scheiber, RC Beeson, S Vyapari – HortScience, 2005 – journals.ashs.org
The symptoms of calcium deficiency in plants by EW Simon – New phytologist, 1978 – Wiley Online Library
Effects of cell size and spacing on root density and field performance of container-reared black spruce. by P Salonius, K Beaton, B Roze – Information Report-Atlantic Forestry …, 2000 – cabdirect.org
Rootbound: Exploring Production in Seattle’s Urban Forest by S Boetjer – 2015 – digital.lib.washington.edu
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