Transplanting Root Bound Vegetables

For some it’s the time to transplant many vegetables into our gardens for a late summer/fall harvest. Sometimes though we get behind and don’t get those seedlings planted a soon as would be optimal and they become root bound.

What does root bound mean? It is when the plant outgrows its pot and the roots have no place to go but to wind round and round the inside of the pot. This restricts the nutrients the plant gets from the soil and water can’t be used properly. Sometimes the roots take over the soil and there are more roots than soil in the pot.

What can be done with root bound plants? There are a few solutions, although they damage the plant. Thankfully, they generally recover quickly. If nothing is done and the plant is transplanted it will continue to send its roots in a circle, and doesn’t grow optimally, so we have to help it out a bit.

Depending on the size and type of pot the plant is in, you either just gently squeeze the bottom of the planter letting the plant kind of pop out or if it is a bigger planter, turn the planter over with the stem of the plant in the crook of two fingers and gently tap the bottom of the pot. This will, hopefully, leave the plant upside down in your hand. If not you will have to get a bit more aggressive. But eventually it should come out.

While the plant is upside down in the palm of your hand, squeeze around the root ball and use your fingers kind of like a comb and try to loosen the roots. Once that is done, plant it in its designated spot, fanning out the loose roots as much as possible.

If the root ball is very dense, you may have to take a knife and slice the roots lengthwise around the root ball in a few places to loosen the ball; then comb as above. Sometimes, it becomes necessary to actually cut off a small portion of the bottom of the root ball; much like you would cut the crust off a piece of bread. Then loosen the root ball and plant as above.

Root bound plant - photo credit Vegetarian Times

Root ball loosened - photo credit Vegetarian Times

Slicing lengthwise to loosen roots ~ photo credit Canadian Gardening

 That's it! Happy gardening!

Linda Foley

About the Guest Author:

Linda Foley lives with her husband in Northern California. She blogs about gardening, small livestock, homesteading, and life. You can contact her via her blog @ LinderCroft