Trimming Roots of Potted bulbs
J.E. Shields (Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:21:30 PDT)
Ken asks a very good question. I habitually work very hard to spare the
roots of clivias when repotting or washing for shipment -- but I saw
workers repotting clivia plants at a California commercial nursery, and
they were chopping off half the root lengths, then repotting in the same
pot with fresh potting mix. What are we seeing here?
Some plants in the amaryllis family seem to have to struggle to grow new
roots when the old ones are damaged or removed. Haemanthus, Crinum, and
Clivia are a few examples that come to mind.
The thought occurs to me that cutting off part of the roots may stimulate
the growth of fresh roots, but I don't know if this is actually what
happens. For sure, the gardening literature is full of "old wives' tales"
that are not true, or are at best half-truths based on poor understanding
of plant biology.
Jim Shields
in chilly central Indiana (USA)
At 09:09 AM 3/20/2008 -0700, you wrote:
Dear Members:
In a current article on Pot Culture of Lilies,
one of the comments made is that the roots are trimmed
to 2 1/2 to 3 inches. For years, the claim was made
that imported lily bulbs didn't grow well because the
roots were usually trimmed. Well, is the claim faulty,
or is trimming the roots a bad suggestion?
Then, I was taught that roots were only able
to absorb nutrients for-at most-an inch back of the
growing tip of the root. Trimming roots back would
remove the part that is able to absorb nutrients.
Yes, the roots are possibly old, but any possible
new growth is being sacrificed. Yes, lilies do make
new roots, but why not either remove the roots
completely, or not trim them at all?
Admittedly, roots also serve to anchor the
plant, and a couple inches would be better than none,
but why injure the roots instead of potting up the
whole root system?
There are a lot of "old wives tales" in
gardening, things that are done because that's how
it's always been done. Is this an example?
Ken
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Jim Shields USDA Zone 5 Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92 WWW: http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344 or toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA