Is Loosening the Roots Before Planting a Waste of Time and Energy?
Wednesday March 19, 2008
In a recent issue of Organic Gardening magazine, they quoted researchers from the University of Florida as saying that loosening the roots of pot bound transplants of annuals was “an inefficient utilization of labor.” Now I’m a big fan of OG magazine as well as a big fan of efficient labor, but I’m skeptical. I have seen annuals pulled out of a garden after frost and the root ball was still the shape and size of the small cell pack they came in. I don’t think it’s that much effort to loosen the roots and it sure seems to help them develop a stronger root system, (which means less watering and even more efficiency).
What’s your opinion. Do you bother with this extra step and does it benefit the plants in the long run?
Photo: © Marie Iannotti (2008) licensed to About.com, Inc.
Comments
I fully agree - loosening the root ball does wonders for a plant’s development, as is borne out by the way root balls never get past cell-pack size when you don’t as well as the significant percentage of plants that don’t make it.
Since I plant both commercially and in my own garden, the value of labour is certainly a factor. My solution is as follows: when short of time (or labour), just crack the root ball open in the middle. That usually frees it up enough to develop a strong root system moving forward. The extra time spent in spring is well worth it since obtaining replacement plant material after mid-July is virtually impossible. Then you’re stuck buying developed containers from the nurseries, bringing “expensive” to a whole new level.
With trees and shrubs, the time spent at planting is priceless since these are long-term acquisitions that you really don’t want to be replacing every couple of years.
Happy planting!
I’m a home gardener and have ten years experience working in a nursery and greenhouse and i feel if the plant is at all root bound the roots should be loosened. I have had many customers bring back plants that haven’t grown or have died and the rootball is still in the shape of a pot. If you’ve got a shrub or something else that is difficult to loosen just run a sharp knife down the sides of the rootball a few times and that should do the trick.
If the garden soil is loose and loaded with organic material, you might get away with leaving the roots intact. Otherwise, loosening the roots of potted annuals, shrubs and perennials is crucial and takes 5 seconds.
I’ve been gardening my whole life, owned a gardening service for 25 years, and am also a landscape architect. I can’t believe someone did research on this! To me, it’s a “no-brainer”!
I think the key word here is annual. Why waist the life energy of an annual in developing roots that you’ve torn lose, when an anual is purchased for what is on top of the ground. I think root teasing is good for something that will come back each year and need good root developmnet.
Good point. There probably is more benefit to teasing the roots of perennial plants. But I’d still like a strong root system from my annuals, so they can take up water more readily.