Transplant help!!!

wyteboy

Active Member
i got 3 plants in 1 5 gallon bucket and they are all over a foot probly 2 foot would i b able 2 transplant 2 of them without a problem?
 
you shouldnt have a problem. make sure you do it at night so the sun doesnt shock the shit out of them. after you transplant them water them a little too and try to not rip a lot of the root system off n you should be fine
 

icantseemyface

Active Member
squeeze gently around the edges of the bucket untill the soil becomes loose. I personally would not do this at night as the plants SHOULD be sleeping but a compromise is to transplant them just before the plants are going into there night cycle.

Once transported water lightly (by the way the soil you transplant to should be moist before you transplant!)
 

Brick Top

New Member
how do i get them out of the bucket without tearing the roots?

Here is a reply to the same basic question I wrote some time in the past. Rather than type it all again even though some wording might not seem to totally fit what you said the repotting information is still valid.

Below the original portion is some additional information about what can be done if you have plants sharing a container and have tangled roots and a person wants to separate them.




Oh .. you want to know about transplanting.
 
Ok, well if like most people you began your seedlings in a plastic cup or some small container you soon found that you have to repot into something larger because the plant’s roots are running out of room to grow in.
 
The below soil mass/area/size of a plant is very nearly always close to being equal in size to the above soil mass/area/size of the plant. Because they take such different shapes it is hard at times to imagine that being the case but it is.
 
Once roots begin to circle a pot the plant is under some degree of stress. The longer the circling is allowed to continue the worse the stress the plant is under becomes. Among some of the problems root-bound plants can have are stunted growth, stretching, smaller and slower bud production, needs often watering, is easy to burn even if using low percentage nutrient solutions and wilting.

For future reference .. when you repot follow the following steps.
 
Select the pot size you will be transplanting into. (I suggest growing in nothing smaller than 5-gallon pots and I normally use 7-gallon pots and I start out my plants in them and never repot.)
 
Allow the soil in the pot your plant is in to dry out and slightly pull away from the sides of the pot.
 
(The following applies if you are right handed. If not reverse the hand position/use instructions)
 
Partially fill your new larger pot with quality soil so when you insert your plant into the new pot and fill in around the rootball the top of the soil will be at the correct level.
 
Pick up your old pot with your left hand.
 
Place your right hand on top of the soil with the main stem between your first and second fingers.
 
Gently tap the edge of the pot on a countertop or a workbench or something similar. The entire rootball should slide out in one piece, possibly with a slight amount of soil loss, but no damage to or loss of roots unless the plant was so root-bound that the roots had grown through the drain holes. If that is the case if you use plastic pots cut the pots so the roots can slide through. If you are using clay pots and you do not want to damage them then clip the roots instead, but saving them is always best if possible.
 
Your plant and rootball are then securely held in your right hand. Inspect the rootball and if it is tightly packed/twisted/root-bound slightly score/cut the edges of the rootball and also slightly score/cut the bottom of the rootball.

If you do not score/cut the root-ball that the roots will want to continue to follow their circling pattern and their growth progression both down and to the sides into the fresh deeper soil will be much slower. Each cut root will push out new roots and they will go both out and down into the new soil.
 
Place the plant into the new pot.
 
If the surface level of the old rootball is to low or two high remove some soil or add additional soil.
 
Next fill in around the edges between the rootball and the sides of the larger pot.
 
Water thoroughly to cause the soil to settle without compressing it too much by packing it down by hand. If needed add additional soil and water again.
 
Normally plants will undergo very little to no shock when transplanted in this manner but it would not be an injudicious thing to do to use a product like SuperThrive or something with the same general properties because they will reduce plant stress helping them to overcome it quicker and easier.


Additional to the below to fit the individual question better:

Tangled roots - Bare root transplanting:

Remove plant/rootball from pot as per above.

Use a hose or repeatedly dip into bucket of water, a hose is better, removing all soil from your plant's roots.

Gently separate the roots of the different plants and of course separate plants.

Partially fill new larger pot with soil.

Hold plant with roots dangling into the new pot. Gently add soil so you do not tear the fine roots.

Attempt to spread out the roots in layers if possible spread them out as much as you can, again being gentle.

When filled with soil water heavily to settle soil without pressing down compressing it. Doing that will tear roots.

Allow to dry thoroughly.

Again, SuperThrive or some other similar product that helps plants overcome stress is not a bad idea. If a bare root transplant is done correctly plants should undergo little to no stress or shock at all but it is not a bad idea to take the belt and suspender route in such cases.
 

indy45

Member
grab the base of the plant with one hand turn the bucket upside down an smack the bottom it will come right out of the five gallon bucket. PEACE
 

Brick Top

New Member
this will work with a 5 gallon bucket?

It will work with any pot size that you can handle to do what is needed to safely extract the entire rootball in one piece, with some minor loss of soil possibly but not enough to be a problem. Even in the case of something very large some variation of it can be done. With a very large pot you could take something like a long knife and run it around the inner edges of your pot, making sure to not be cutting roots and instead be scraping the pot-side, just to make sure the rootball is loose, and then if can be wiggled out or better yet you simply cut the pot in half removing it in two pieces.

Then you repeat the rest of what I said.

As was seen in my previous message, I never re-pot. I never start out plants in anything smaller than 5-gallon pots (though 4-gallon pots would work decent with some smaller strains) and most times I use 7-gallon pots. When I grew outside on my deck I would use 15-gallon to 25-gallon pots.

As long as you have the space for it a pot can never be too large, but it is very easy and far to common for people to pick too small of a sized pot.
 

Brick Top

New Member
grab the base of the plant with one hand turn the bucket upside down an smack the bottom it will come right out of the five gallon bucket. PEACE
When you strike the bottom of a pot that transfers shock and energy through the soil and that can cause it to break up and that can result in torn roots as the soil falls off once the rootball exits the pot.

When you tap the edge of a pot on something like a work bench or countertop you are using gravity and momentum. The plant/rootball is lowered and when the pot strikes a surface that will not give it stops but the downward momentum causes the rootball to slide from the pot with less chance of the rootball soil breaking up and roots being damaged.
 

wyteboy

Active Member
so when i get the plants out of the 5gallon bucket shud i use a hose to help get the plants apart or how shud i do that? shud i get some root hormone shit to be sure in case my roots do tear a lil or if i had to cut the plants apart?
 

raw225

Active Member
When i transplanted mine, i kept all the old soil in the roots & added new soil in a bigger pot & then put my plant & root system in the new pot, i didnt want to shock my plants by removing the old soil then put them in a different type soil. They look good & healthier
 

indy45

Member
that is why i use growbags 2gallon five gallon an 7 gallon very easy for transplanting. like said above use a utility knife a bobs your uncle. something to keep in mind for the future
 

wyteboy

Active Member
When i transplanted mine, i kept all the old soil in the roots & added new soil in a bigger pot & then put my plant & root system in the new pot, i didnt want to shock my plants by removing the old soil then put them in a different type soil. They look good & healthier
i would keep the same soil but i need to seperate 3 plants there wouldnt be a point in transplanting them if i was keeping them together unless you think they would b fine together if i jus put them in a bigger bucket like 7 or 10 gallons?
 

wyteboy

Active Member
here are some pics of what i am trying to transplant the 2nd pic is showing how close they are together.
im going to try the transplant before dark tonight was gonna do it last night but had to work
 

indy45

Member
that makes sence When you are transplanting. That is just the wat I was taught but when I look back mabye I added another week or so to the growing because of shock learn something new everyday PEACE
 
Top