So I have 5 gallon fabric pots and I put towels underneath them so it would soak up some of the water. I left a towel sitting there over a period of two weeks, when I went to take the towels out there was roots growing in the towel. I still took the towel out from underneath them. Because I didn’t want wet towels in my garden. Did I shock my girls by taking the tips of the roots and ripping it out from underneath him and is this a common thing how do I prevent the roots from doing this? Please tell me if I up or if I’m OK or if it’s not that big of a deal really
2 Likes
Not that big of a deal.
If there’s an air space under the pots the roots won’t Grow past the fabric.
4 Likes
Those roots would have air pruned if the pots were elevated so she won’t miss them as they wouldn’t have been there to begin with.
4 Likes
like the others said… no biggie! What it does say though is soon those plants will be looking for a new home! Are they autos or photos?
1 Like
Photos, you think I need to transplant them again ??
1 Like
The larger one may be ready? They wont all grow at the same rate. If you see root all the way to the bottom and sides, Id say its ( hit the wall ) what this means is whatever medium you are using is being replaced by root. If you are in Fox Farms, for instance, once the soil is gone there is no more food… if you dont either begin feeding or pot up, you will begin to see nutrient issues.
Common sign will be fhe need to water every day, wilty looking even 20 minutes after watering, the onset of deficiencies or lockout and general poor growth and plant health.
2 Likes
I wouldn’t do that… the towel got moist and soaked up water and nutes, creating a nasty root expansion mess. Glad you caught it, in time 
1 Like
Yeah guys just remember the wet towel root expansion trick when it comes time to clone your work. Makes a good root stretcher, make your clone sprout root. @BobbyDigital @Covertgrower @Zee @Cannabian
2 Likes
Proof that a wet towel will make roots grow. So, make your clone sprout. Should be as simple as that. @Dabmon710
1 Like
Wow that’s crazy because I just transplanted them like 2 1/2 weeks ago because that’s when I first put the towels down.
Roots are blind and will grow until they hit restrictions. When they hit those restrictions they change course. Just because the roots come out of your pot doesn’t mean they’ve run out of room. It just means they haven’t run into any walls yet. In cloth pots, the restrictions are the air that surrounds the pot. If you were to wrap your cloth pot in a towel, they will grow into that as well if it’s damp. Air is their boundary.
7 Likes
Yeah @BobbyDigital is right, thats why I use the other signs and symptoms as a guide for knowing when to transplant. If your plant is not struggling to keep up with waterings and you have no drooping or deficiencies then ride it out. You DO want the rootball to be well formed before transplanting. Otherwise the rootball wont stay together. I used pot bounding this spring to deliberately delay transplanting outdoors as the plants were growing too fast and it was still too cold.
notice how the leaves are drooping down and the tops are not aggressively reaching for the light? This is a condition of being rootbound. I was also experiencing deficiencies, none of which could not be corrected so I aasnt worried at all.
This is those same plants after transplanting
Notice the leaves and tops are upright and happy looking? After only a few days. fast forward same plants
3 Likes
Gave her a Brazilian
3 Likes
What’s a Brazilian lol?
1 Like
When the ladies get a bikini wax lol
So are you saying I should trim them up a little ?
1 Like
No I don’t think so. Looks good to me. And you have plenty of room. But I’m new to this.
1 Like
If you elevate your pots some (put them on a wire shelf/rack [cooling racks for baking work]) so there’s airflow under them, the roots will probably trim themselves as they dry.
3 Likes