Question About Plants

[treelo]

i have bought a few plants that have been potted and when i have taken them out of the pots, they have had some sort of sponge type substance intertwined with there roots

some of these plants are thriving with the sponge still attatched but some seem to be dying off

i didnt actually want to try and get all of the substance off a lot of the plants because all the roots would have been damaged

is this normal for plants to be held in pots with this sort of stuff, or should i find a better supplier of plants?

 

[frozenbarb]

it would be best if you took them off the pots.... so they have more space to grow and wouldnt be bunched up together... which would cause algae if isnt seperated

 

[nry]

Lots of companies grow their plants in pots like that (e.g. Tropica), it helps develop a good root system - don't worry about damaging too many roots, providing you leave enough they will be OK. Often it is suggested that you trim roots slightly anyway as it encourages the roots to grow when planted.

I would not normally plant the plants still in the pot/wool/sponge as the pot will mean the roots cannot grow aswell into your substrate - not entirely sure about leaving the wool/sponge there though I would personally try to remove as much of it as possible without causing major root damage.

 

[treelo]

will it not toatlly kill my plants though if i destroy the roots that are attatched to this?

 

[rsands]

you will break a few small roots pulling it off but the main roots and most of them should be ok! its hard to pull it off without breaking a few.

 

[nry]

Nope, many plants can also be bought unpotted so they have no root system at all. Push the stem base into the substrate and it will usually root on its own. You can also cut really long stem plants and re-plant the cut stem into the substrate and it will usually root in the same way.

 

[treelo]

to add to this, the plants roots are heavily embedded in this stuff, i really dont think i would be able to pull it off without comepletely destroying the roots TBH

ill try and get a pic at the weekend so you know what im dealing with

 

[treelo]

update on this, i have now removed all the plants from the wool type substance they came with, and will let you know how my plants get on

some of them looked like they were starting to die off with the substance attatched

 

[nry]

If the wool/sponge used is not ideal, often anaerobic areas can build up around the roots which can cause the roots to rot. Some companies (e.g. Tropica) use a certain type of wool which does not have this issue in the vast majority of cases.