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Tintedwinter
- Full Member
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 2:51 pm
- Location: Hemet, CA
Pot bound. Good or bad?
So, I have a lot of plants in pots, but I'm mainly concerned about my recently acquired Money Tree. I've read contradicting information about the pot size for it. Some say to let it become pot bound. But I was under the understanding that pot bound was bad. But then I understand that if the pot is too big it can be hard for the plant to thrive.
Actually, both bits of advice are true. When a plant is severely pot bound, the roots are strangled and can't absorb water and nutrients to support the top growth. As a result, the top growth begins to die, and eventually dies completely.
Often, people think the plant is dying back because it isn't getting enough water, which is true. But they water it more, and that doesn't help at all, because the roots are still strangled and can't absorb water. The addition of more water just causes the roots to rot, killing the plant a little faster.
It's best, though, to keep a plant in a pot that fits it. Problems can arise if the container is too large. For one thing, if the container is too large, the root system of the plant can't remove enough of the water quickly, and the soil stays too wet. The end result is that the roots rot from being too wet for too long a time.
Some plants -- and it really varies quite a lot, so I can't actually give you a list -- will only grow new top growth if their roots are comfortable in the container. If the container is too large, the plant will spend all of its energy growing roots, and only produce new top growth once the root system is large enough to fill the container. When these plants are comfortable in their containers, though, the roots are still not tightly root bound. I don't know of any plant that actually enjoys being tightly root bound. It has to be able to absorb moisture, so it can provide nutrients to the top growth.
It's usually best to just go up one pot size when repotting. The only exception I sometimes use is when working with desert cacti. They have root systems that are wide and shallow, so I'll move them into a pot 2 sizes larger.
Another exception would be when you're repotting a plant that lives in very large containers, such as potted trees. Large containers usually increase by 2 sizes, rather than 1, so that's what you have to use.
Often, people think the plant is dying back because it isn't getting enough water, which is true. But they water it more, and that doesn't help at all, because the roots are still strangled and can't absorb water. The addition of more water just causes the roots to rot, killing the plant a little faster.
It's best, though, to keep a plant in a pot that fits it. Problems can arise if the container is too large. For one thing, if the container is too large, the root system of the plant can't remove enough of the water quickly, and the soil stays too wet. The end result is that the roots rot from being too wet for too long a time.
Some plants -- and it really varies quite a lot, so I can't actually give you a list -- will only grow new top growth if their roots are comfortable in the container. If the container is too large, the plant will spend all of its energy growing roots, and only produce new top growth once the root system is large enough to fill the container. When these plants are comfortable in their containers, though, the roots are still not tightly root bound. I don't know of any plant that actually enjoys being tightly root bound. It has to be able to absorb moisture, so it can provide nutrients to the top growth.
It's usually best to just go up one pot size when repotting. The only exception I sometimes use is when working with desert cacti. They have root systems that are wide and shallow, so I'll move them into a pot 2 sizes larger.
Another exception would be when you're repotting a plant that lives in very large containers, such as potted trees. Large containers usually increase by 2 sizes, rather than 1, so that's what you have to use.
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Tintedwinter
- Full Member
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Tue May 08, 2012 2:51 pm
- Location: Hemet, CA