When Transplanting should be done a day after watering because moist roots and soil (not soaking wet or bone dry) will slide out of the old pot easier. The soil will hold together better, and less root damage will occur. How You should loosen the root bound roots from the bottom and lower sides of the root ball by teasing them out loosely and gently - this will help the transition. if there are too many hanging down after teasing, then it is ok to cut or tear a few handfuls of roots away. If the roots are wrapped around the root ball in the shape of the original pot, then it's best to cut these away to promote faster root penetration into the new pot. Timing The secret is the timing of the transplant; you want when the roots have filled the original pot, but before the roots have wrapped around and the plant has become root bound. The danger of transplanting too early is that when you up can the pot and lift off the pot some of the soil and young roots may become damaged due to the fact that there is insufficient amount of roots to hold all the soil together. The danger of waiting too long before transplanting is that growth will slow, as the plant has insufficient root room to match the above ground growth – ultimately yielding less. In addition, micro deficiencies, dehydration and other problems occur more frequently with root bound plants. Root-bound plants also take awhile to become vigorous again. My Technique My preferred method of transplanting is to moisten the pots I'm going to transplant, moisten the new soil at the bottom of the new pots with a garden mister (the pump up models are best - misters are by far the best way to moisten the soil because they act like rain and do not compact the soil). Mist each 3-inch layer of soil - lightly sprinkle around the old root ball in the new pot - this will create the best conditions for new growth. Roots will reach out and grow much faster into a light, airy moist soil than the compacted mud created by a hose or watering can to wet down the soil I believe that many problems are caused initially by compacting the soil. Lightly moisten your soil before and after transplanting. If a lot of water is pouring out of the holes in the bottoms of your pots when transplanting, then you are probably over wetting the soil and creating soil compaction. Tips: If your soil is lacking in soil conditioners (e.g. sand, rock gravel, perlite, vermiculite etc) and the roots have penetrated the new soil - then water again. In normal conditions this would be 4 - 7 days after transplanting. Try to emulate the natural action of rain: pump up misters, watering wands, sprinkler type watering cans are best - forget about using a hose as this may compact the soil and it is also very easy to over water (quickly leaching out nutrients from the soil). All the soil mix ingredients should be mixed in dry.... never stir or mix wet soil mixes, as they will turn to useless mud. Transplanting pot once or twice is recommended to ensure the health of the marijuana plant. The marijuana seedlings can be planted in large containers as you start growing them outdoor or indoors. You need not to do transplanting if your containers are large enough to accommodate the needs of a fast-growing cannabis plant. Transplanting pot should only be done once or twice during the whole growth cycle of the marijuana plant. This is to guarantee a high yield during the harvest. When transplanting pot, it should be handled with utmost care so that you will not cause pressure on the plant. Most growers are using small cups, as they plant their marijuana seedlings. Right temperature, humidity level, water and nutrients will all contribute to a healthy cannabis plant. Soon these marijuana plants will need transplanting since they will already outgrow their starter cups. Do not let the marijuana plant become rootbound in its original container. Tangling of the roots may occur. Cannabis will stunt its growth because space is not already enough to sustain its development. The plants will also need constant watering. When they are rootbound, you can see signs of wilting. Leaves and stems will start to droop. These are the common signs that will signal you that it is time to do transplanting pot. Do not wait for the marijuana plants to become rootbound. Transplanting pot should be done as soon as you observed that marijuana plants are getting taller than their containers. Always do the checking so that you will know that it is already time to do a transplanting pot. Transplanting pot can be done in several ways. However, you have to be very careful in handling the plants during transplanting. A knife or a transplanting trowel can be used to remove the marijuana plant from its original container. For those rootbound plants that have already rooted well on their containers, transplanting is done by holding tightly the stem and lifting the plant up while keeping the original container on the ground. Transplanting pot can threaten the roots, stems and leaves. Take your time in transplanting pot to ensure that no damage is inflicted to any part of the cannabis plant. After the plant is removed from its original container, carefully check on its roots. If roots are tight, try to loosen them up by pulling the root ends. As the plants are now ready for transferring, secure them with new containers that are large enough to accommodate their rapid growth. You can double or triple the size of the container where you got these marijuana plants. This will give the roots more space to spread out. Thus, promoting thrive in the different stages of growth that a marijuana plant will undergo before its final harvest. Transplanting pot can offer benefits to growers. When your cannabis plant is not rootbound, proper growth is promoted and bud production is enhanced. No more wilting because the cannabis plant can already grow fully. With transplanting, a great harvest can be achieved. Here are some examples of when to transplant:
Thanks for the linking very helpful info! I was wondering if I had them rooted like your solo up pic would my plants survive if I filled my 1 gallon pot with perlite and not more fox farm soil? Or maybe a verm perlite mix? I just want to conserve my fox farm soil if I can !
When quoting someone elses work it is good form to reference the person that took the effort to write it up otherwise it will appear you are taking credit for someone elses work.
Thanks for the info PI. I'm planning on transplanting tonight as I've read it's better to do it before lights out, although that bit of info wasn't present in your OP. Have you read anything about the idea? Also, I'm not transplanting dueto being root bound. I'm transplanting becuase I'm experienceing faint yellowing, and feel as if my plants are asking me for the transplant. I'm two weeks and a day above soil, and have planted into a half gallon grow bag with soil that wouldn't burn the seedlings, while my main mix cycled. I mentioned that becuase you only mentioned transplanting becuase of being root bound, but not transplanting because your moving in to your amended mix.
that second example looks to me like its been sitting in that pot a little longer than optimal... I wouldnt expect it to be stunted yet, but 3-6 days earlier would have probably been better
this should be a sticky it told me everything i needed to know. I have an 8 day old masterkush baby that has some roots poking out of the bottom of a Solo cup. I started to panic thinking i had to transplant NOW. am i okay for a little? also ive never transplanted, and am very scared to fuck up.would it be a bad idea to try and just cut the cup and carefully put her in the 3gal?
I made a few things that should be stickied -this -ultimate grow guide -smoke report template but none of them are stickied Either way, im glad it helped bro