Root Bound Plants – Symptoms and Solutions

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Each year, we start our pepper plants indoors in small pots. This means that the plants need to be transplanted at least once during their lives (and usually twice in our case). If they are not transplanted into larger pots at the right time, the plants may become root bound.

When a plant becomes rootbound, it usually shows some symptoms. Some plants are okay with being root bound, while most garden plants don’t like it. In this article, I’ll cover how to identify and fix a root bound plant.

In This Article:

• What does root bound mean?
• Symptoms of a root bound plant
• How to check the roots
• How to fix a root bound plant (transplanting)

Root Bound Plants (Video):

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What Does ‘Root Bound’ Mean?

Let’s start by defining a root bound plant. When a plant is root bound, its root system has out-grown the pot in which it is planted, causing the root system to grow in a circling pattern around the container.

When a plant becomes root bound, it loses the ability to expand its root system and will often become stunted. If you buy garden plants from a nursery in late spring, there is a good possibility that they will be root bound.

Annual plants like tomatoes and peppers require a large container to grow to a mature and healthy size. To avoid these plants becoming root bound, be sure to transplant them at the right time. This will allow the roots to continue growing into additional soil.

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Symptoms Of A Root Bound Plant

Root bound plants will show several signs of the condition. Having a root bound plant is almost always manageable and can be resolved easily. The first step however is identifying it to begin with. Here are a few common symptoms that a plant has become root bound:

Stunted Growth

The most obvious sign that your plant has become root bound is a slowing or stopping of growth. The size of your pot will determine how large any given plant can grow. This is due to the fact that the root system will eventually reach the walls of the pot, inhibiting the roots from expanding further.

Once your plant’s root system (or root ball) has reached the limits of the pot, the foliage of the plant will slow its growth rate. This is because there are fewer roots to absorb the plant nutrients from the soil.

Many plants, including peppers, will take this as a sign to begin producing seeds, and so flowers will begin to form. The plant ‘thinks’ that it has reached its maximum size, and so it will move on to the next stage of growth, which is reproduction.

Make sure your plant ends up in an adequately large pot. Each type of plant requires a different amount of soil to grow. Some plants, like succulents and cacti, can happily grow in just a few ounces of soil.

Visible Roots Above Soil Surface

Another sign of a more severely root bound plant are visible roots above the surface of the soil. This indicates that the plant’s roots have reached the sides and bottom of your pot and have continued to grow back up to the surface. At this stage, your plant is in serious need of attention. Time to transplant!

Curled or Disfigured Leaves

Another possible symptom of a root bound plant is a curling of new leafy growth. Curling leaves can be caused by a number of other factors, so this may not necessarily be caused by a root bound plant. However, if your plants have been in the same sized pot for a while, the leaves may begin to curl.

Next, if you have a suspicion that your plant is root bound, you can perform a simple check to confirm. If your plant is root bound, then it is time to consider taking some action to keep it healthy.

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How To Check The Root System

If you are fairly sure that your plants are root bound, you can simply check beneath the surface. When you are transplanting peppers or tomatoes, you can simultaneously do a quick check on the root ball to see if it is root bound. Or if you are just curious, you can check on your plants without transplanting.

Note: If you are working with a large pot, be sure you are outdoors to avoid messy soil spills.

Directions:

• Gently hold the base of the plant stem, just above the soil
• Squeeze the pot a few times to loosen the root ball from the pot
• Turn the plant sideways or upside down and wiggle it free from the pot
  • If the plant is not root bound, be careful! You don’t want your delicate root system to be ripped up from the soil while it is still getting established
• Check for encircling roots

If the plant is root bound, you will see intertwined roots all around the root ball. The roots will likely be more dense toward the bottom of the pot, forming a tight cluster. If you determine that you have a root bound plant, it is time to transplant to a larger pot or into the ground.

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Transplanting A Root Bound Plant

Transplanting is the process of moving a potted plant into a larger pot. I prefer to start in smaller pots and transplant them in order to save space when starting many seeds. A root bound plant is a plant that waited too long to transplant. This doesn’t mean that your plant can’t still be remedied!

Here are a few steps to take when transplanting a root bound plant.

• Gently loosen the roots with your hands (wear gloves)
  • Use a rolling motion, then pull away more stubborn root ‘clusters’
  • It is okay if some roots ‘snap’ in the process
• Pour soil around the root ball in the new pot – this allows the soil to naturally fill in between the broken-up root system
• Water thoroughly after transplanting

For a more thorough guide to transplanting, read our article about it here.

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I hope this article helped you identify and manage any root bound plants that you may have. Remember that it isn’t necessarily a disaster for the plant. Good luck and feel free to share any questions or advice in the comments.