Perlite Solo Cup Transplant

I'm doing a hempy style grow in Perlite and the seedlings have gotten to the point where I need to transplant them into a larger container than the solo cups that they currently reside in.

My question is: Is there any reason to remove them from the solo cup? I was thinking of just cutting the bottom off and making some slices in the sides of the cup with a razor blade then filling around the cut cup with more perlite.

It can probably be done although I'm not sure why you would want to.

Just to keep everything in shape while i transplant into a larger perlite container. I figured it would be a good way to keep everything intact while it's buried in more fluffy and lightweight perlite without disturbing the root system too much.

sounds like an excellent way to do it to me. i dont know if you'd even need the slices, just removing the bottom should accomplish exactly what you're trying to do.

if its well rooted into the cup it should pop out in a brick, save yourself the trouble and just start out with the container you want in the end, i have popped freshly rooted clones into 5gal hempy buckets and they rooted in fast, i never saw a reason to transplant with perlite or soiless of any kind for that matter.

Thanks. A brick would be perfect. This is my first perlite grow so I'm not too familiar with how it acts yet. I'll probably stick to the Solo cups for germination in the future since I only grow small batches for personal use. That way I can start them on a shelf with a few CFLs and gradually add light until it's time to put them into flower. It should conserve a few weeks of power not needing to run the 600w and all of the cooling accessories. I will definitely keep starting them in their original buckets in mind for the future if I ever decide to do the entire grow in the grow room. Cheers!

Make sure you need to transplant. I grow them almost 20'' in the 16oz. solo cups.

I just transplanted my perlite hempy's from solo cups to 5 gallon containers. Like stated above, you need to wait till they are well rooted. The root ball wont hold all the perlite together, so dont worry about the loose perlite. Just put your hand over the cup, sqeeze the edges as you turn it upside down and it will come right out. I like to do this right over top of the bucket its going in, that way the loose perlite just falls in the bucket and it makes it cleaner.
Also in the new container, wet the perlite with your PH'ed nutrient solution, then make an indention for the new plant. place it in, fill in with wet perlite from the edges, pack it down gently, give it a good watering and your done. I have also taken slower growing plants and transplanted into soil just fine as well using the same technique. I also transplant from hempy solo cups into DWC buckets. I just lay down a good layer of hydroton in the netpot, then place the perlite root ball down and back fill with hydroton. You would think all the perlite would fall into the DWC container, but it really doesnt. Plus I dont use RDWC, so if some perlite gets in the water, no big deal, cause I have no pumps to clog.
Good luck with your Hempy's, I find this to be the easiest method for me for growing GREAT plants!

I'll wait a bit more before transplanting. It sounds like my fears about the root ball falling apart are unfounded with the perlite and a well rooted seedling. Thanks for the advice and cheers!