Whoever coined the phrase “what you can’t see won’t hurt you” obviously wasn’t talking about the dangers of failing to properly look after your roots. These very delicate, completely hidden away foundations of life arguably deserve more attention than any other part of the plant due to the key role played in absorbing nutrients and supporting growth. As a result you might expect any attempts to strengthen a plant by forcing it to overcome stress at the root level to be particularly challenging – but you are about to discover otherwise through the use of air pruning!
The home for roots, traditionally speaking
For many years round and square pots manufactured from plastic and terracotta materials have been the only choices available when it comes to housing roots. Although there is nothing wrong with these existing options, certain problems are associated with them – such as root circling.
Why does root circling occur and how is it detrimental to plant development?
The impenetrable shell of a standard plastic or terracotta pot sees probing roots circle around the sides and base in an ongoing and ultimately failed attempt to find a way through. This leads to a large amount of roots being positioned up against the pot wall, with wasted space materializing towards the centre and less of your growing media being put to effective use. Also, because the roots run along the sides of the pot they are more prone to suffering if it becomes warm/hot.
Indeed a recent study reported on by BBC News revealed that plants grown in traditional pots never quite reach their full potential. Numerous different species were tested and with all the cases the roots appeared to detect the size of the pot and then hit the brakes, consequently restricting any future development.
Understanding the way that your roots work
The majority of the water and nutrients absorbed at root level are taken up by the root hairs. As a root grows so too will new hairs (forming just behind the root cap), a combined effect that allows the plant to increase its access to available sources of food and drink. Having roots continually advance in length and produce new root hairs will expand the root zone, and the bigger and better that this becomes, likewise the overall plant.
Given that normal pots stunt root growth, clearly the production of new root hairs has to slow too – meaning plants cannot then maintain the same levels of overall growth as was experienced earlier in the lifecycle. Worryingly the entanglement and damaging of roots over time can cause leaves to discolour and droop, with the worst-case scenario ultimately being death. A different tact is needed if you want to keep the rootzone thriving and maximise plant performance.
Air Pruning
When root tips become exposed to relatively dry air conditions something interesting happens – they dehydrate and stop proceeding forwards. The mild shock caused by this action does however kick start the development of secondary roots, which sprout up along the length of the original ones and progress until the same series of events takes place again. Air pruning is very advantageous because it triggers new root growth, leads to a more fibrous/branched out root system, helps overcome the issue of spiraling/twisted/constricted roots and stops plants from becoming pot-bound.
In the context of plant pots, several new innovative products actively encourage the air-pruning process. From our research we consider the best of these to be Rhizo-Pots.
The Rise of Rhizo-Pots
At the heart of the Rhizo-Pot design is a simple idea – enable greater amounts of air to reach the rootzone to facilitate air-pruning and the associated benefits. The fabric media container more closely resembles a pouch than a pot, offering flexibility in movement to better accommodate the plant, and significant tiny little access holes for root tips to come into contact with the air. Compared against a basic alternative, you will notice plants nurtured in Rhizo-Pots have larger, healthier looking roots and a much denser root structure.
For soil and coco growers that are results driven and focused on yields, there’s really no substitute to using Rhizo-Pots!
Air pruning at the propagation stage
Indoor gardeners that are using hydroponics can also apply air-pruning principles, and during one of the most important stages of root development too! Propagating plants in relatively airy rockwool cubes is already a good move for establishing strong root systems, but by placing them on an open-bottomed rack or shelf that elevates the media, you allow air to reach all available surfaces. This encourages roots to grow in every direction, and at whatever edge of the cube they reach, be successfully air pruned. Accommodating the air pruning process at the propagation stage and letting the cuttings/seedlings take a little longer than normal to develop will allow them to attain the best possible position ready for entering a main system.
GOWERGREEN
Lux Limo