Transplanting....HELP!!!!

joel98

Member
Ok So I am getting ready to force flower my White Widow. Im a complete Newbie and am using CFL's right now. I had this plant growing all wrong at first and through RIU I learned fast. My problem is, The pot I am using was too small and didnt have enough dirt in it, It grew very well, deep lush green and lots of branches....Im so Proud....anyways I read on RIU that when I goto flower it can triple in size so I figured there is no way my roots are going to make it in the same pot. SO I got brave got a bigger pot used worm poop good soil and am using super thrive and MG I know MG, I learned but my plant has taken to it. The plant is about 1 1/2 ft high now. When I removesd the plant from the existing pot, I snapped off a leaf by accident and I heard all sorts of ripping in the roots. It killed me. I felt so bad for my baby. My question is......will my baby be ok? should I delay flowering for a few days? I have 6 23 watts 6500k cfls right on the plant with an oscillating fan to keep it cool. The plant hasnt starting sagging and its been 3 hrs already. Also any advice. I am attaching a pic prior to transplant so you can see how its looking. Any and all help appreciated. Thank you all for your help and advice
 

Attachments

budsmoker706

Active Member
Ok So I am getting ready to force flower my White Widow. Im a complete Newbie and am using CFL's right now. I had this plant growing all wrong at first and through RIU I learned fast. My problem is, The pot I am using was too small and didnt have enough dirt in it, It grew very well, deep lush green and lots of branches....Im so Proud....anyways I read on RIU that when I goto flower it can triple in size so I figured there is no way my roots are going to make it in the same pot. SO I got brave got a bigger pot used worm poop good soil and am using super thrive and MG I know MG, I learned but my plant has taken to it. The plant is about 1 1/2 ft high now. When I removesd the plant from the existing pot, I snapped off a leaf by accident and I heard all sorts of ripping in the roots. It killed me. I felt so bad for my baby. My question is......will my baby be ok? should I delay flowering for a few days? I have 6 23 watts 6500k cfls right on the plant with an oscillating fan to keep it cool. The plant hasnt starting sagging and its been 3 hrs already. Also any advice. I am attaching a pic prior to transplant so you can see how its looking. Any and all help appreciated. Thank you all for your help and advice

Yes wait to flower. Ur baby has had enough stress added to it right now. So just give it a cpl of days. This plant is very strong, but you need to let it rest and give it proper attention when needed
 

joel98

Member
Thank you so much for your help!!!. I feel a ton better. Another question, very bottom leaves are severely yellow for about a week now, but the rest of the plant is sharp green. thats ok right? During flowering im going to use 0-10-10. is that good enough? may be going out to get hps light for flowering today. Thank you for your help
 

Brick Top

New Member
For future reference .. when you repot follow the following steps.
 
Select the pot size you will be transplanting into. (I suggest growing in nothing smaller than 5-gallon pots and I normally use 7-gallon pots and I start out my plants in them and never repot.)
 
Allow the soil in the pot your plant is in to dry out and slightly pull away from the sides of the pot.
 
(The following applies if you are right handed. If not reverse the hand position/use instructions)
 
Partially fill your new larger pot with quality soil so when you insert your plant into the new pot and fill in around the rootball the top of the soil will be at the correct level.
 
Pick up your old pot with your left hand.
 
Place your right hand on top of the soil with the main stem between your first and second fingers.
 
Gently tap the edge of the pot on a countertop or a workbench or something similar. The entire rootball should slide out in one piece, possibly with a slight amount of soil loss but not much, but no damage to or loss of roots will occur unless the plant was so root-bound that the roots had grown through the drain holes. If that is the case clip them first.
 
You plant and rootball are then securely held in your right hand. Inspect the rootball and if it is tightly packed/twisted/root-bound slightly score/cut the edges of the rootball and also slightly score/cut the bottom of the rootball. If you do not so that the roots will want to continue to follow their circling pattern and their growth progression both down and to the sides into the fresh deeper soil will be much slower. Each cut root will push out new roots and they will go both out and down into the new soil.
 
Place the plant into the new pot.
 
If the surface level of the old rootball is to low or two high remove some soil or add additional soil.
 
Next fill in around the edges between the rootball and the sides of the larger pot.
 
Water thoroughly to cause the soil to settle without compressing it too much by packing it down by hand.
Allow the soil to drain thoroughly.

If needed add additional soil and water again. Again, allow the soil to drain thoroughly.

 
Normally plants will undergo very little to no shock when transplanted in this manner but it would not be an injudicious thing to do to use a product like SuperThrive or something with the same general properties because they will reduce plant stress helping them to overcome it quicker and easier.
 
I hope your plant pulls through just fine. It should .. but again using something like SuperThrive would not at all be a bad idea to help it overcome any stress it may have been put under through the root ripping etc. it experienced.
 
Good luck!
 

 
 
 
 
 

joel98

Member
Thank you Brick top. I heard ripping but the entire root ball was pretty much in tact. Im a nervous daddy what can I say. I did what you said and held it properly but the ripping occured because I didnt tip the old pot completely upside down, and put undue pressure on the stem. the root bal came out just fine though. You give good advice
 

Jerry Garcia

Well-Known Member
Thank you so much for your help!!!. I feel a ton better. Another question, very bottom leaves are severely yellow for about a week now, but the rest of the plant is sharp green. thats ok right? During flowering im going to use 0-10-10. is that good enough? may be going out to get hps light for flowering today. Thank you for your help
I think you could switch to flower now, as long as your plant doesn't begin to show signs of stress from the transplant. Switching to flower doesn't stress the plant, it just triggers a hormonal response to stop vegging and start flowering...a normal part of the plant's life cycle.

For flower you still need a little bit of nitrogen in your food to keep those leaves healthy. A half-strength application of 5-1-1 fish emulsion fertilizer in addition to your 0-10-10 should help keep your leaves healthy during flower.

Regarding your lower foliage...it could be dying due to insufficient light. Are the cfl's all directly above the plant or do you use any to illuminate the sides? It's hard to tell from the pic.
 

joel98

Member
I have lights all surrounding the plant sides top back etc, but the prob is that the old pot wasnt filled all the way up with soil, so those leaves got limited light. Good point though, Im still going to wait to flower cause I want to get an hps light, a few more days, it will just get bigger Im sure.
 

joel98

Member
I should say that I have 2 White widows and 3 super silver haze all doing very well and growing fast. My kids are getting big. Im so proud
 
Top