Up-potting 1 year old Foxtails

lucky1 · 2011-01-14T12:15:45Z

Fortunately the unfinished basement has a concrete floor for the mess ahead:<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5353157527_60a25661ec.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04274" />It's been a toss-up whether to up-pot early and risk root trauma, or leave them until after their second flush and not be able to get them out of those tall skinny "cups". I opted to wait until after the second leaves had emerged.First, there were two dead ones that sunburned very badly this summer.I wanted to see what the roots looked like, with no green spear having emerged.Expecting rotten mushy brown roots, I was frankly amazed to see only white fleshy (good) roots.<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5203/5353157515_1c4f876b39.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04279" />Getting these palms out of the cups was going to be tough.Want to keep the tall cups for the next batch of germinating seeds, but they have a flange inside at the bottom 1 inch that roots cling to, and cutting at the outside soil line with a bread knife wasn't loosening the most important part of the roots at bottom:<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5241/5353752332_8d4dcc3103.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04285" />After several more passes with the bread knife, roots were still holding fast at the bottom. Darn!Even turning cup upside down and smacking the bottom wasn't freeing the roots.<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5353752330_2702c0e025.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04287" />Starting with a smaller seedling, this guy took a heck of a beating, lots of root trauma, which bare-rooted the seedling.<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5201/5353752326_6b5bf23b79.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04289" />Not good, so gave it a B Vitamin soak before potting up:<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5353752310_a00032c393.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04291" /><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5202/5353752318_d0382cf5e4.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04290" />So unfortunately...have to cut the cup bottoms to invert and slide seedling out.<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5004/5353687216_244f923ea3.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04294" />Oops, knife can't go in too far without cutting circled roots. Cutting the plastic took a lot of "elbow grease"<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5090/5353687182_32743d0a31.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04309" />The next one worked out better with roots intact. The rootball slid out nicely when inverted, maybe no transplant shock (hoping).<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5247/5353668590_96a68a39b6.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04310" /><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5048/5353668564_67eee1b527.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04313" /><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5088/5353668558_e107529cb1.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04316" />The potting soil I'm using, recommended by John (okanagandesertpalms):<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5002/5353157521_e03c6e075d.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04277" />Going from this size to this size:<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5353157517_90197fc7fc.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04283" />Beer-jug soil transfer into a big plastic lined tub works great: :wink: <img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5282/5353752336_cba2b9384c.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="DSC04284" />Having practised on the little guys, time to move to the nicer specimens:<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5170/5353687188_1fabe94b2d.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04305" />A few hours of hard work and a sore back and job's half done. :| <img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5046/5353514334_18e70184e3.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04318" />Hmmm...wonder if I can still re-use those cups...maybe duct-tape a container to the bottom?<img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5245/5353687198_daf44c0f67.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04303" /><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5164/5353687196_900b41df75.jpg" width="375" height="500" alt="DSC04304" />Gives whole new meaning to the term "J-roots" for the next batch :lol: :lol: Have labelled the palms that had root damage, also the ones that hopefully had no root trauma. Will be interesting to see how much of a factor that'll be in their growth.Thanks for visiting my messy basement...Beer-jug potting ended with a beer...canned beer :laughing3: Barb

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Indoor Palms

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lucky1

(@lucky1)

Posts: 11322

Illustrious Member

Topic starter

Thanks Dean, nice to see you back again.

Thrive Alive and Superthrive are heralded as being tonics for plants especially at transplant time.
It doesn't replace fertilizer, use in addition to regularl fertilizer program.

http://www.technaflora.com/products.php?product=16
http://www.superthrive.com/gallon.html

It's like a plant stopping to have a beer! Good for it.
Barb

If you drink, don't drive. Don't even putt.

Posted : 09/02/2011 12:05 am

Dean W.

(@dean-w)

Posts: 662

Prominent Member

Thanks Barb, I'll have to get a bottle next time I'm at the garden center and try it out. I have heard different things about it in the past and wasn't sure what to expect.

Dean

Posted : 09/02/2011 12:10 am

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