So i have 2 plants in 4 gallon pots and a 3rd in a 2 1/2 gallon pot. They are all different strains and vegg'd for 7 weeks and the plant in the smaller pot is signifigantly smaller than the other 2. I was wondering does the size of the pot make a huge difference in the limitations of your plants size? How big of a pot do you usually use?
Yes, the canopy grows almost equally with the roots. If you have a small plant in a small container the plant is probably root bound, which slows its growth. To check, water the soil thoroughly, put your hand over the soil with the stem of the plant between your fingers, flip the pot over so the plant and soil comes out of the pot, and check the bottom of the soil. If the roots run in a tight circle around the bottom of the pot, it is "root bound" and you need to get it into a bigger pot for it to recognize its full potential. Before you transplant though pull those circular roots apart so they are loose (not in a packed circle). When I grew soil I used 3-1/2gal pots. edit: considering they are different strains it may not have anything to do with the pot size. Check if they are root bound. Hope this was helpful!
General rule of thumb is 1 gallon pot for 1 foot plant, 2 gallon for 2 feet, etc. etc.. You really can't have "too" much room for your roots.
Wow Thanks for the advice Shadowdhooter. Ive always wandered if i could pull the plant out to check out the roots...never thought of flipping it upside down....thanks
Yeah I was considering pulling on my plant's stem before I read on GC about transplanting.. glad I did, I don't think she would have liked that
I have seen many grow journals where there was several foot tall plants in 1 gallon containers. I'm just saying I know I've seen them. I'm pretty sure the trick is to start your plant in a very small container, allow the roots to get pretty packed, then transplant, repeat, then transplant. That way there are way more roots than would have been if you started with a big pot. The roots tend to run to the outside and make circles. I wouldn't say either that if you look at the bottom of the soil and see the roots running in circles then that means for sure your roots are rootbound, and thats not enough space. This happens in every pot. The concern is if there is obviously tons of root wrapped around, like 50 times.
After 7 weeks in veg, all of those plants are probably rootbound, even the ones in the 4 gal pots. Unless you have even larger pots to put them in I suggest you move to 12/12 already. If you are not going to transplant then I do not recommend pulling the rootball out to examine it. And if you do transplant I do not recommend you try to loosen the roots or pull on them in any way -- too much risk of damaging the roots. They will expand into the larger pot just fine on their own.