Dung Lung
Well-Known Member
I believe many of you must have experienced root ball rots as a whole. Many of the dark and dead roots, when squeezed, burst with toxic liquid, indicating that they rot just recently. The whole thing rots simultaneously!
If the medium is too wet and soaky, the root ball would not have developed! Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the potting material!
What went wrong!
One might think it was because of the medium decomposition, but rejected because records of years without repotting but with healthy plants were common!
I think what actually happened was:
Right after repotting, the plant grows happily with new roots. This roots fills up the void in the new medium. Thus, the originally air sufficient material, together with the many roots, becomes a soaked block. If watering frequency is not reduced, or the temporature increases(which is natural if repotting in spring), the waterlogged medium would cause root rot. As a result, the whole root ball fails!
To overcome the problem, I use coarse materials. Mist daily, particularly the underside of the leaves., lengthen the watering cycle but with plenty of water, eg once every 6,7days, good air circulation of course. Replace the top material by inorganic material after the root has established. By then, the rate of root dying would reduce. Toxic liquid generated by individual dead root could easily be drained away, leaving sufficient voids to be replaced by new root later.
Your comments please.
If the medium is too wet and soaky, the root ball would not have developed! Therefore, there is nothing wrong with the potting material!
What went wrong!
One might think it was because of the medium decomposition, but rejected because records of years without repotting but with healthy plants were common!
I think what actually happened was:
Right after repotting, the plant grows happily with new roots. This roots fills up the void in the new medium. Thus, the originally air sufficient material, together with the many roots, becomes a soaked block. If watering frequency is not reduced, or the temporature increases(which is natural if repotting in spring), the waterlogged medium would cause root rot. As a result, the whole root ball fails!
To overcome the problem, I use coarse materials. Mist daily, particularly the underside of the leaves., lengthen the watering cycle but with plenty of water, eg once every 6,7days, good air circulation of course. Replace the top material by inorganic material after the root has established. By then, the rate of root dying would reduce. Toxic liquid generated by individual dead root could easily be drained away, leaving sufficient voids to be replaced by new root later.
Your comments please.