ROOT BOUND

 

LT COL NOEL ELLIS

 

12/X/2024

 

There are times when a gardener tries to thoroughly water his plants but the next day it appears that it was never watered. The surface feels dry as stone. This is a hint that things are not well.

 

You try and thrust your finger in to check, but it doesn’t go through. You try shoving a weed remover or a screw driver, it is still very difficult to shove it in. There is definitely something wrong.

 

This happens when you leave a plant unattended and just keep watering it. Its foliage is green and healthy but what is happening inside the pot is neither visible nor there is any way to peep in. The only way to understand is to extract the plant from its pot and check.

 

Chances are that the plant has become “root bound”; means it has consumed all the soil & manure needed for it to thrive. The pot does not hold water anymore. The bottom hole gets blocked as roots start to emerge out of that hole looking for food. If left long enough on the ground, the pot gets stuck as the root goes deep into the soil.

 

Another thing which happens in a root bound plant is “root rot”. This is the result of no soil. The roots start to appear on the surface. Water remains stagnant in the space from the brim of the pot to the soil surface. Most of the water starts to overflow. Balance of the water start the rot. Root rot is the biggest killer of a plant. Once it sets in, fungus spreads. How hard one tries to eradicate the rot; it becomes difficult to keep the plant alive.

 

My experience tells me that plants need a change of soil-manure mix every year. Ideally, it should be done during monsoon or just after it. The plant has to be carefully extracted out of the pot in which it had been living in the last year then checked for fungus, rot, insect infestation etc.

 

Carefully and deftly the roots need to be trimmed from all sides leaving the “tap root” in tact. If the tap root gets cut, survival of the plant is at stake. Or else, it might not flower the way it usually does even if it is fed with manure because the plant goes into stress for not having enough roots but also finding lesser roots to absorb water and nutrients. The fibrous and frilly roots need to be trimmed to relieve it from getting choked.

 

Today, it was time to check three plants called Foxtails, Asparagus fern and Mondo grass. They were growing fine but after the rainy season we did not find new shoots sprouting. Plants were healthy but their growth had stagnated.

 

Asparagus fern has an emotional attachment in our family. This fern grew like a bush, covering the window of my room of our house where we stayed in Sainik School Kapurthala. It not only gave shade; it acted as a natural cooler and also a nesting place for many birds.

 

It used to bear tiny white flowers and fruits which used to be green initially then turn bright red on maturing, giving it a very classy look. Mom used to make ‘wreaths’ for brides using this fern. Thus, the connect and reason for having it in our garden now.

 

Generally, if you tap the pot firmly on all sides and turn it upside down, the whole plant slips out with the soil. But, if it gets root bound, no amount of tapping helps. It has to be a deliberate effort and sometimes one has to cut through the roots to help the plant out.

 

What caught my attention was that the Mondo grass pot was ruptured from the side. Pressure of its roots to get out to feed chose the weakest spot of the pot to tear it. Strange as it may seem but that is what the roots can do.

 

It took some muscles to extract the plants out of their pots. A visual inspection and a general plan had to be made from where and how much to trim & chop, lest the plant gets damaged. Having a good idea with experience, the job was done with precision. It needed lots of muscle power and patience. The clippings went into the compost bin as usual.

 

Any garden needs a lot of attention and an uncanny knack to find out if something is amiss. Plants do give you a subtle hint but that is if you pick it up in time before the damage reaches a point of no return. One has to be at it.

 

How many more pots are root bound in the Ellis’ Garden? I wonder!!!!!!!

 

JAI HIND

©® NOEL ELLIS