Re: divisions in bottomless containers

I've always slashed as you said anything excessively rooted.  Occasionally
I've gotten something extremely potbound and just cut off the whole bottom
inch or so, adjusting top growth for the surgery.  Containers that have nice
root systems with no circling roots I usually just massage or fork out the
exterior roots.

I remember your mentioning Cherry Lake b4, this is just a simplified version
for the home gardener

Kitty
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "james singer" <jsinger@igc.org>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] divisions in bottomless containers


> Sounds a lot like the growing regimen of Cherry Lake that I reported a
> year or so ago--the nippled pots for self pruning tree roots. I think
> root pruning is an important step in transplanting without regard to
> size; I always slash root balls on four side with a box cutter when
> transplanting.
>
>
> On Saturday, October 30, 2004, at 06:04 PM, kmrsy@comcast.net wrote:
>
> > Remember when I asked you all what was meant be "divisions in
> > bottomless
> > containers"? Well, here's roughly how it was described in class.
> >
> > Some plants grown in containers may develop longer root systems than
> > the
> > depth of the pot and start traveling around in the pot, circling it.
> > For
> > plants that grow taproots, including many prairie plants, this can be a
> > problem. To alleviate the problem and to develop a more dense fibrous
> > root system, you can use bottomless containers.
> >
> > Take a standard gallon container ( or any kind) and cut most of the
> > bottom out leaving a bit of a lip. Line the bottom with a couple of
> > paper towels and fill with soil media and plant material. Water in.
> > Place the containers' edges on bricks leaving the toweled area open to
> > the air, not on any surface. When the plant's roots grow down, they'll
> > reach the towel area and air-prune themselves rather than traveling in
> > another direction. Once air-pruned they will more readily branch out
> > and
> > develop a more fibrous root system rather than a bunch of ropey roots
> > circling the inside of the container.
> >
> > This technique isn't restricted to divisions, which is one thing that
> > had me confused. I think it could be quite valuable for any kind of
> > containerized plant.
> >
> > Kitty
> >
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> Island Jim
> Southwest Florida
> 27.0 N, 82.4 W
> Zone 10a
> Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
>
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