Quixote Posted February 7, 2014 I just repotted a 1-metre tall trich, it had grown in a small pot and the rootball was really dense. I couldn't even loosen the roots, so I thought about rutting off some of the root mass, but decided against it. Should I have done that? I'm worried the cactus won't shoot new roots because it has been so confined for about two years... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted February 7, 2014 on packed root balls I usually cut the bottom off then make long vertical cuts on the sides spaced 3-4" apart. Very best is slicing off the bottom & sides where the roots were mashed up against the old pot. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote Posted February 7, 2014 I had another cacti that I did that with - "sliced" off the sides of the root ball. It ended up taking too much off though, maybe I wasn't careful enough with it. It stunted the growth of the plant for an entire season. I think the problem is that most of the root mass is actually found along the sides of the root ball, since that's where it keeps trying to propagate. So the outer 5 millimetres are where maybe 80 pct. of the roots are found... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philocacti Posted February 7, 2014 I had to break the pot of this 1.30 cm pachanoi to transplant it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote Posted February 7, 2014 Well that seems to be mostly because of the amount of soil in the pot, as the roots have hardly reached the sides, as far as I can see.. Strangely yellow colour, by the way.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philocacti Posted February 7, 2014 The roots filled the whole pot and even squeezed it until it cracked Most of my trichocereus cacti have this very pale yellow color to them, cuz 2 years ago I used hydrated lime to make the soil alkaline, which was a bad move. All of them stalled and the ribs sunk and became yellow. These last 2 months I've been transplanting my whole collection (it's winter here) to make them ready for the next growing season. Although I didn't water them but most of them are turning greener and I can notice it by the week Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote Posted February 7, 2014 (edited) Ok, difficult to see in your pic how much root mass there was. Question remains though: Will a tight pot-bound root mass be able to continue growing when it's repotted in a larger pot, or is it forever "locked in" to its confined size? Edited February 7, 2014 by Quixote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
franky Posted February 7, 2014 It will keep growing just fine, although it is better to repot before they become so rootbounf 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote Posted February 8, 2014 I repotted another, smaller Trich, and noticed something: This cactus was also rootbound, but the roots were dry, brittle and (I suppose) dead. The bigger cactus had roots that contained moisture and seemed alive. I broke off most of the dry roots, didn't want them potentially rotting in the new pot.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philocacti Posted February 8, 2014 I doubt they were dead; probably calloused Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
