Maintaining seedlings

I was planning on starting some seedlings and I'm wondering whether or not being root bound in Solo cups will damage them? I was planning on keeping them in the cups for several months until I can transplant them elsewhere. I know they'll reach a peak height in the cups when the maximize their roots, but will it damage their growth potential or will they continue to grow fine once I transplant?

Several months in solo cups? That's not a great idea. Why not just wait and sprout them when you need them?

Go to a fast food place and get one of the big plastic cups. Cut it in half and poke a lot of holes in the bottom, transplant your plant into that.

Why isn't it a great idea? Will they simply stop growing when the become root bound? Or will it cause long term damage?

keeping them in little cups for a few months will restrict their ability to grow very big at all. if your roots only have 2-4 inches of soil the plant isn't going to be able to get very big. if you don't understand why then you should do some more research before you start growing.

I think you guys are missing the point. I have done several grows and understand the process. What I'm asking is ARE THERE ANY LONG TERM EFFECTS TO SPENDING 3 MONTHS IN SOLO CUPS BEFORE BEING PLANTED OUTDOORS? Once outdoors they'll have a full grow cycle.

I get what your saying and I think that they will be hard to keep alive in those conditions for that length of time unless you trim the roots every few weeks or so. I am not sure if I would try it but when I kept mothers in soil I used to pull them out of their pots and just cut the edges off of the root ball then re-pot them. If you were taking clones I would say that it would for sure slow down your growth and your production will go down but in your case it might be just the way to go. Just my 2 cents though, good luck and happy growing.
KnB

I know what you're looking for because I am in the same situation. Being in Alaska, I want to be up and ready for spring. I've got 9 seedlings about 3" tall that are going to be my moms (there may be 2-3 males but that's great too since I also want to do a seed run. I think it is possible to keep them alive in party cups but they would be much better off in 1 gallon pots; that's what I'm going to do anyway. One thing you may want to consider is bonsai'ing them. I hate to point you to an outside link for this but it's really a great thread and we don't have one on here that I know of. I'll probably do one a little later on. Here's the link to that: http://www.mrnice.nl/forum/10-mothers-fathers/7326-secret-2-inch-bonsai-mother-pictoral-guide.html