Does a plant that has been rootbound not reach full potential

Have a lot of older rootbound plants and was wondering if there good candidates for a grow or take clones first like will it never get full root mass?

I have had plants root bound in solo cups for over a week.

Transplant them and they exploded with growth

Talkin monthss lol I just been keeping em alive for genetics I’ll just break up the root ball real good

I keep bonsai mothers. In 0.5 litre pots. For months. I just take them out of the pot and prune the roots and then plant into the same pot. Monthly or bi-monthly.

When i want to grow one, i just tranplant into a 5 gallon and watch it explode with growth and before the flip take some clones to keep as new bonsai mothers.

I got 18 potential trees living in .5 litre pots in a 60x40cm area. Great space saver.

crimsonecho said:

I keep bonsai mothers. In 0.5 litre pots. For months. I just take them out of the pot and prune the roots and then plant into the same pot. Monthly or bi-monthly.

When i want to grow one, i just tranplant into a 5 gallon and watch it explode with growth and before the flip take some clones to keep as new bonsai mothers.

I got 18 potential trees living in .5 litre pots in a 60x40cm area. Great space saver.

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I use a large butcher knife and insert it straight down through the root mass on plants. Even in grow bags. Roots divide just like the plant above ground does when topped.

hotrodharley said:

I use a large butcher knife and insert it straight down through the root mass on plants. Even in grow bags. Roots divide just like the plant above ground does when topped.

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Yes it does. When the tip is cut the roots branch out and this creates a better root system. But not in the flowering phase of cannabis.

But my root pruning is not to encourage a better root system. 0.5 litre means a very tiny pot so, after 1-3 months they become severely rootbound. At that time, i need to take the half of the root mass off to keep them healthy. Also a pinch of fresh, rich soil once in a while keeps them happy.

When keeping mothers that get rootbound you should take it out and use a bread knife to cut off half or more of the rootball than put it back in the same or bigger pot with fresh soil to keep it healthy and happy.

I cut the bottom off the rootball each time I up-pot with all my plants and shave down the sides if there are long roots wound around the perimeter.

crimsonecho said:

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know of anyone that keeps mothers in airpots, the one liters?

mr. childs said:

know of anyone that keeps mothers in airpots, the one liters?

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No but it’d be perfectly fine imo. I went as small as 0.25 litre pots with air pathways to prune the roots. Not airpots per se but pretty similar and they worked fine. But they need to be transplanted with fresh soil monthly in such small pots so 0.5 works better.

I keep mothers in one gallon pots. I’ve also been known to finish plants in one gallon pots of Tupur. Just have to feed them a few times a day

I don’t like that unhappy leaves thats why a good root pruning is needed ime. Helps them keep their health and vigor.

I’m doing my current grow in 1 gal pots and watering every 2 days. I like 5 gallons so i can eliminate feeding altogether but still a good compost heavy mix keeps them moist enough and feeds for a while.

I didn’t even had to feed these for the first month and a half. I did 4-5 feedings after that and they are about 15 days away from the finish line so no more feedings.

1 or 2 of them may starve a bit as they already have many yellow leaves but its ok, they got fat buds already.

Yo soiltococo what you using to get those fat white roots

My rootball never looks like that even from seed with a taproot you using mammoth p or something?

NICK72690 said:

My rootball never looks like that even from seed with a taproot you using mammoth p or something?

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Photosynthesis plus, hydroguard, and Recharge (once a month) in Royal Gold Tupur

Only one I’ve heard of is recharge and I deff plan on getting some is tupur coco I’m looking for something different than my typical fox farm

NICK72690 said:

Only one I’ve heard of is recharge and I deff plan on getting some is tupur coco I’m looking for something different than my typical fox farm

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It’s like coco but has aged forest compost mixed in too. It’s a very fiberous mix that drains extremely well. I multifeed during Flower so drainage is key

I should add that these plants have not been under proper light the entire time and have mildew and some pests but my thought was that a transplant and introducing them to the outdoors would also introduce light and airflow and predators

crimsonecho said:

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Is there a reason/advantage to using a knife like that and removing a lot of roots as opposed to just breaking it up? With house/garden plants I will just rip it apart with my fingers. This looks much neater and like you are removing more roots. Would splitting the rootball with my thumbs be a bad idea when upcanning a rootbound plant?

TrippleDip said:

Is there a reason/advantage to using a knife like that and removing a lot of roots as opposed to just breaking it up? With house/garden plants I will just rip it apart with my fingers. This looks much neater and like you are removing more roots. Would splitting the rootball with my thumbs be a bad idea when upcanning a rootbound plant?

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No there is no need to use a scalpel or knife to cut the roots. You can use your hand but the reason i use a scalpel is that it provides uniform cuts. When the root tip is taken off the auxilary root tips emerge from the sides. By using a sclapel i’m being sure that i cut as many roots tips as possible to get a better root system in the end. Thats the only reason i do it.