But if the whole purpose of transplanting plants into fresh nutritious soil shouldn't I try to remove as much of the old soil as I can, without disturbing the roots too much ?
My plants keep dying
- Thread starter Walter1982
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The more I learn about transplanting plants the more complicated it gets. So when I remove my plants from their old container, if I find girdled roots I should do this:
First, carefully remove the soil from around the base of the trunk so you can see the root flare. Then, make clean pruning cuts back to a lateral root if practical. Cut roots at the point where they begin to circle so new roots that grow from the cut will point away from the trunk.
First, carefully remove the soil from around the base of the trunk so you can see the root flare. Then, make clean pruning cuts back to a lateral root if practical. Cut roots at the point where they begin to circle so new roots that grow from the cut will point away from the trunk.
I also found this Reddit forum where they suggest to break up the roots gently to give them space to grow and they describe the manner in which you should cut roots, such as vertically, towards the bottom of the root ball.
I'm just thinking out loud here. It seems a good idea to soak a very root bound plant in water before attempting to cut or remove the old soil?
I guess I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can for when I finally start unpotting these plants I may come across very root bound, girdled plants. Especially since a few of them are still in their original small plastic planters that came from the nursery and have grown quite tall. They will likely be root bound and I have to figure out the right way to transplant plants in this condition.
I guess I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can for when I finally start unpotting these plants I may come across very root bound, girdled plants. Especially since a few of them are still in their original small plastic planters that came from the nursery and have grown quite tall. They will likely be root bound and I have to figure out the right way to transplant plants in this condition.
We just repotted this corn plant. My understanding is that the top of the root ball should be planted near the top of the planter I'm moving it to? Because the roots generally grow down and sideways? I used a larger pot to make my mixture of soil and compost which is 25% compost and 75% soil. After finishing the move and surround the root ball with soil we lightly water the plant from the center top of it. The root ball was completely surrounded with sideways growing roots so like many of the videos instructed I cut off the bottom few inches of the root ball and make several 4-5 inch cuts around the perimeter. Hopefully we did everything right. These are $10 plants so it's not the end of the world if it dies over the next few days. We also cut off some of the yellow/dead tips of the leaves.
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That's all fine, although Dracaenas are monocots and don't need root-loosening. Their roots grow longer but don't get any fatter so girdling is not really an issue with them. The trimming is OK, just expect some yellowing and wilting.
For most plants grown in pots permanently, I don't worry about girdling roots too much. It's more of a problem with large shrubs and trees planted in the ground where they can fall over due to poor rooting.
For shrubs and small trees that are grown in pots permanently, treating them like bonsais and changing soil and root removal is more frequently done.
Keep studying, especially if you can find information on ".edu" sites. These are sites associated with colleges and universities that usually have scientific studies backing up their recommendations.
For most plants grown in pots permanently, I don't worry about girdling roots too much. It's more of a problem with large shrubs and trees planted in the ground where they can fall over due to poor rooting.
For shrubs and small trees that are grown in pots permanently, treating them like bonsais and changing soil and root removal is more frequently done.
Keep studying, especially if you can find information on ".edu" sites. These are sites associated with colleges and universities that usually have scientific studies backing up their recommendations.
understood. I'm guessing if we did anything wrong or the transplant procedure was too rough, the plant will likely start dying within 24 to 48 hours?
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No, it usually takes longer than that, you might see a change in about a week. It depends on environmental factors like light and temperature. From what your pictures show they should be able to survive. I've done more than that on a few. They looked pretty crappy for a while, but they grew out of it.
