Question For Stinky (or rhizome or......)

[Weedhound]

I know it's been posted but honestly I'm having some real memory troubles these days (called "chemo" brain by those in the know apparently) so could you please, please, PLEASE tell me exactly how you would transplant a rootbound plant back into the same or same sized pot? Do you just chop off the bottom third or ? I sort of need a step by step guide if you actually have a chance to answer this post.

Thanks Stinky/everyone.

Wh

[stinkyattic]

Heya Hound
You're planning to cut it back on top too I hope?
Here's how I do it:
1. Take clones. If plant is too sickly to clone, cut back growth by 1/3, choosing mainly thick, low branches and their new growth to remain if possible- cut off the spindliest, lamest looking third, basically.
2. Prepare your soil and have it on hand.
3. Let teh plant get a bit dry
4. Upend it and support the rootball so it doesn't fall apart as you slide it out of the pot. Take a bread or serrated knife and carefully saw off a diagonal slice of the root ball. For a plant in a round pot, I leave a half-moon shape of soil on the base and slice up a wedge up the side of the root ball, taking about 1/4 of the total soil mass.
5. On the other side, scratch the roots low down to the bottom edge of the pot that you did NOT cut off so that they are just a tiny bit loose. Don't overdo it.
6. Pour some fresh soil into the pot while it is tilted so that the shape of the fresh soil leaves an exact spot for the plant. Put some fresh soil in the bottom, too.
7. Put the plant back in the pot. It SHOULD be slightly higher than it was, and there should still be a small amount of space around all sides, whcih you can then backfill with your fresh soil.
8. Water lightly with a fert solution (I use a bloom formula) at 1/4 strenght.

[rhizome]

Definately do a topside trim.

Weedy, my mom went thru some heavy chemo about a year back- she was certainly a little out of it ( not tracking conversation real well, hard time making decisions about little things, keeping track of keys & such... you know the drill. )

She came back clear as a bell once that course of chemo ended. Seriously, within two weeks of the last dose she was kicking my ass @ scrabble. It'll get better.

Talked to her this morning- she was tighter on Senate races than I am, and I jack in for that kind of thing. (She did have the advantage of having slept.)

It's just the meds.

[Rusty Trichome]

Yeah...chemo can be a bitch. My wife has had to get it every other week for two years now. Doc say's it will continue for the rest of her life, barring any miracles. :(

Are they still in veg? If in flower, a major trim-back of roots and foliage will definatelly slow growth, and if susceptable to stress...you risk nanners.
There's a link in my sig for (post-harvest) bonsai downsizing if interested. Works for ladies in veg, too...but you probably don't want to be so drastic.
The technique is a bit extreme...but works fine. It goes from a 5 gallon pot, into a 1 gallon pot. This technique also works in veg, if the need arises. I dropped a vegging lady and broke the 5 gallon pot she was in, a few months ago...only pot I had to put her in was a 3 gallon. Trimmed the broken branch, trimmed the roots, and gave some TLC for a week or so. She smoked just fine. :jointsmile:

Have you thought of putting the drainage rocks in the catch-trays under the pots, instead of inside the pot? Gives more foot-room for the ladies, and makes transplants soooo much easier. (no picking rocks out of the root ball)

[Weedhound]

Thanks very much you guys......Rusty I wll check out your bonsai thread as well. It's not for mothers.....just seems that my plants get too big for my pots and it's time I learn how to deal with that. Our usual MO is to get a bigger pot......but even that answer is starting to get out of control for us....:D

Rhizome and Rusty......hope your loved ones are doing well. Chemo is a complete PITA all right and the forgetfulness makes being stoned seem like Einstein.........but beats the alternatve. ;) I walk around the house and see about six things I started and never finished. Anyone ever seen the move "Momento?" It's kind of like that. :D

As far as trimming the top......what if the plant is say 3-4 weeks into bloom. Would you still transplant the same way and trim off some of the top or just the root stuff? If you did still trim the top I assume it would be least needed stuff (as Stinky said) or no trimming at all during bloom?

[Rusty Trichome]

I mainly use this technique for re-vegging, but the technique is sound and versatile. Will make shitloads of cola's on her for re-flowering, (kinda like the results of a successful FIM) or you can keep her in veg as a mom for clone shoots. Very effective once mastered. My main intent here was to give a sort-of pictorial essay of what stinky said. :thumbsup:

If you do this after switching to 12/12, it will stunt vertical growth. She'll likely yellow a tad (slight lockout from freshly severed roots, I assume) till she get's her bearings. Careful not to spray severed branch-ends till completely dry, too.

Also, for the first couple of weeks, it will fill-in much more than it will stretch. (If you've ever broke a cola during flower, you'll recognize the growth habit...) Will suffer in the yield dept, too.

Have you tried to adjust length of veg time to compensate for flowering problems?