signs of root lock

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isthatjohnstamos

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so i just finished my first grow. it was very successful not sure how much i yielded probably about an ounce in total (i just picked buds as i needed to smoke), but i got very leafy and rather small buds. now i made a clone that has about a week to go off this plant and it is already about the same hieght as the original. would my low yield and slow growth over the last month be cause by root lock? if so what are the signs that the plant needs a bigger container?
 
root lockout isnt only from having a small container, i can be from the nutes you use, the soil. There could be lots of things. How about some more info on your grow, like medium, water and nute sched.
 
I think the two terms you are thinking of are"root bound" and "Nutirent lockout" They are two different things all together.Keep it GREEN:D
 
isthatjohnstamos said:
so i just finished my first grow. it was very successful not sure how much i yielded probably about an ounce in total (i just picked buds as i needed to smoke), but i got very leafy and rather small buds. now i made a clone that has about a week to go off this plant and it is already about the same hieght as the original. would my low yield and slow growth over the last month be cause by root lock? if so what are the signs that the plant needs a bigger container?

By "picking" buds as you go you reduced yeild...plant was too busy trying to repair the damage from you picking away at it instead of fattening up the buds.
Rootbound...eh...HA! sorry rootbound is a state of mind way i look at it...but..signs would be stretching, lower leaves falling off if nutirents are not readily available (really applies to bonzai not just rootbound) and constant watering needed. Stunted growth as well.
 
Mutt said:
Rootbound...eh...HA! sorry rootbound is a state of mind way i look at it...quote]

Excellent point.

What exactly is rootbound? Does a root bound plant stop taking in nutrients? no.

I grow 3-3.5 ft plants in 500ml containers. I recently vegged some NL for 5 weeks from seed, and they will be carried all the way through to harvest in a 500ml container, with no comparible loss to yield had I grew them in a container 10 times the size.
 
What exactly is rootbound? Does a root bound plant stop taking in nutrients? no.
When a plant grows for too long in its container, it generally becomes root bound. With no room for additional growth, roots become tangled, matted, and grow in circles.
Root-bound plants without having their roots untangled or put into bigger containers often fail to overcome their choked condition. This results in stunting the plants growth and potential loss of the plant.Hope this helps.Keep it GREEN:D
 
berserker said:
When a plant grows for too long in its container, it generally becomes root bound. With no room for additional growth, roots become tangled, matted, and grow in circles.
Root-bound plants without having their roots untangled or put into bigger containers often fail to overcome their choked condition. This results in stunting the plants growth and potential loss of the plant.Hope this helps.Keep it GREEN:D

Really?

wow, thanks for the information buddy...





although I can't just leave it at that without informing you that you are completely wrong.

In the plant world (that's the whole plant world) the root system is so little studied, particularly in higher plants, the reason for this is that the actual plants themselves are not fully understood... and old theories are collapsing fairly frequently.

The twisting and dying just simply doesn't happen... where did you read that?

lol.

hope this helps.
 
you can counter root lock by trimming the root ball. its a bonsai tech. this way you can keep them in small containers forever. ive never tried it so i have no idea if it works.
 
With the amount of time indoor growers actually veg their plants for most are wasting a lot of extra medium and also more feed. Not only that but with the much smaller pots you can fit in more plants... making more yield

You can quite happily veg a seed plant in a 500ml container (coco coir, i need to be specific as I have tested this method with no other medium) for 2 months... even longer and still carry it through to harvest with a similar yield had you put the plant in a container 10 times the size... this i can say for a fact.

Vegetation time has more to do with eventual yield and is far more important than the size of the container.
 
NewSkoolHarvester said:
Really?

wow, thanks for the information buddy...





although I can't just leave it at that without informing you that you are completely wrong.


The twisting and dying just simply doesn't happen... where did you read that?

lol.

hope this helps.

Eeeeeeasy bigguy.. no need to be confrontational here. ..:cool:
 
The reason I can talk so confidently about this subject is because I have actually done it, am still doing it.

Since growing in the 500ml pots I know I can veg' the plants for as long as i please, and carry them through to harvest. I have two mother plants recently gone into 1litre containers and I intend to keep them for 4 months or so before flowering them... no problem, no root bound. In fact root bound is not even a consideration.

The seed plants i vegged for 5 weeks and have been topped, each has 3 main colas... they are still in their 500ml pots 2 weeks into flower and nigh on 3ft tall.

Rootbound is not in my vocabulary.
 
NewSkoolHarvester said:
The twisting and dying just simply doesn't happen... where did you read that?
im pretty sure he said the roots grow in circles, i dont know about it killing the plant, but dude stop:hairpull:
 
When you say that I am completely wrong.Thats one thing,and I am ok with that.
But,to try and give out bad info on here thats another thing.You stated that you grow 3 to 3.5 foot plants in pots that are 500ml.Ok,fine.Some people want smaller plants,thats why they stay in smaller pots.But to try and say that you can get the same yield in a 500ml pot compared to a pot 10 time the size.We all know that is ridiculous.You could not out yield 4 gallon pots,let alone ones bigger then that.Your plants will not grow no bigger because your roots wont let it,because of the size of the container you have them in.
Here is some good reading for you from the Greenman's library.


Containers After you have prepared your soil, you will have to come up with some kind of container to plant in. The container should be sterilized as well, especially if they have been used previously for growing other plants. The size of the container has a great
deal to do with the rate of growth and overall size of the plant. You should plan on transplanting your plant not more than one time, since the process of transplanting can be a shock to the plant and it will have to undergo a recovery period in which growth is slowed or even stopped for a short while. The first container you use should be no larger than six inches in diameter and can be made of clay or plastic. To transplant, simply prepare the larger pot by filling it with soil and scooping out a little hole about the size of the smaller pot that the plant is in. Turn the plant upside down, pot and all, and tap the rim of the pot sharply on a counter or the edge of the sink. The soil and root ball should come out of the pot cleanly with the soil retaining the shape of the pot and with no disturbances to the root ball. Another method that can bypass the transplanting
problem is using a Jiffy-Pot. Jiffy pots are made of compressed peat moss and can be planted right into moist soil where they decompose and allow the passage of the root system through their walls. The second container should have a volume of at least three gallons. Marijuana doesn't like to have its roots bound or cramped for space, so always be sure that the container you use will be deep enough for your plant's root system. It is very difficult to transplant a five-foot marijuana tree, so plan ahead. It is going to get bigger. The small plants should be ready to transplant into their permanent homes in about two weeks. Keep a close watch on them after the first week or so and avoid root binding at all costs since the plants never seem to do as well once they have been stunted by the cramping of their roots.
Now,there are some facts for you.I can keep posting that all day.But we all know thats not necessary at this time.It is preached on here time and time again.If you want a bigger yield,bigger plants,bigger buds,you need bigger pots.I wonder why that is?:rolleyes: Just some food for thought.Keep it GREEN:D



One last thing.I understand,if you think your right,and being arrogant about it,is one thing,but on here,we try to be a nice and polite and pleasant to one another.
 
I don't need to read greenman's information... he says a lot of things that are wrong, not just wrong but completely wrong. Why would I listen to that idiot when I have done and am still doing everything i've said? So I should stop listening to the truth and start taking in what greenman has to say? lol... now that is a joke.

If you veg a plant for up to 2 months in a 500ml container you will get a similar yield to had you vegged in a 5litre container. i've done it and am still doing it.

The difference between you, me and greenman is that I actually do the tests and don't rely on second hand information.
 
The key is in understanding root behaviour... roots spread out instinctively, they do this to ensure that the plant can obtain an adequate supply of nutrients as in the wild there is usually only a set amount of nutrients per square foot of soil. Also other wildlife will be fighting for the same nutrients, so roots would rather move around an object (like another root) to find more nutes rather than fighting for a particular space. If cannabis has what could be defined a brain then this brain is in the root system, as this is where all the processes and calculations occur. To read more on that, take a look at this http://www.drskunk.com/CANNABRAINds.htm It also makes sense that the sexual regions are in the open air while the brain is nice and protected below ground.

So with a thinking, calculating brain... and cannabis sheer will to survive, not just survive but THRIVE in even the most absurd conditions (pure UV environment) the plant recognises the limits to it's root space and stops. That's right it stops or at least slows right down, yet the plant will continue growing. It does so because it is receiving an adequate supply of nutrients and is supported at the stem. A large plant does not need an equally large root system, it just needs a root system.


So if you provide an adequate supply of nutrients to the root system while keeping the plant tied up for support (this is a must, if you don't tie them they will fall over) you can grow those plants to really big sizes with a tiny root system. Without suffering ANY problems.

Trouble is with cannabis, it is not an ordinary plant.

Also towards the end of flower, the last 2-3 weeks depending on strain a large part of the root system dies away.

My full experiment with root pic's and final yield pic's are all logged.
 
Sounds to me like someone is talking out the side of their neck here. OK first off root binding is real, and of you want to :argue: you can till your blue in the face. I know it is real anyone who has tried to grow 2 plants in one potter can say it i have not only did the plants suffer in their nutrient uptake, they suffered in total yield. Also any one can say it only takes a small root ball to grow a small plant (duh) thats the key word there small, Ive let my plants get to 3-4 ft in 2 gal potter no prob and the root binding came into effect keeping the plant small. Look theres that key word again. What seems to be the question here regardless of who's book you choose to read, seems to be, that if you want a big plant and a small root system can it happen and the answer is a big fat no it cant, any and all fauna will to its best to grow as big as it can above and below ground, and equally at the same time 3 foot above is 3 foot below. Think of it like this, what would become of your plant if you grew it through its vegetative state in a 5 gal potter and then decided to transplant it into a 3 gal container. it will be shocked in a smaller home and not recover in time most likely causing the plant to go Hermy on you, poor nutrient uptake, stunted growth, and poor flowering performance.


Back to the thread and the question that is asked about how to tell if your plant is root bound. When you notice that it seems your plant has leveled off in growth or stopped all together your plants roots are running out of room for further advancement in plant height. Sure it will still grow and gain a bit more height and flower and flourish as well as it can but it will do it more slowly than normal, with new roots comes new growth even during flower, until the last weeks when the plant is ready for life to start ending.
 
Dubbaman said:
I know it is real anyone who has tried to grow 2 plants in one potter can say it i have not only did the plants suffer in their nutrient uptake, they suffered in total yield. Also any one can say it only takes a small root ball to grow a small plant (duh) thats the key word there small, Ive let my plants get to 3-4 ft in 2 gal potter no prob and the root binding came into effect keeping the plant small. Look theres that key word again. What seems to be the question here regardless of who's book you choose to read, seems to be, that if you want a big plant and a small root system can it happen and the answer is a big fat no it cant, any and all fauna will to its best to grow as big as it can above and below ground, and equally at the same time 3 foot above is 3 foot below. Think of it like this, what would become of your plant if you grew it through its vegetative state in a 5 gal potter and then decided to transplant it into a 3 gal container. it will be shocked in a smaller home and not recover in time most likely causing the plant to go Hermy on you, poor nutrient uptake, stunted growth, and poor flowering performance.
The first part I underlined has nothing to do with what I'm talking about... the roots will use as much space as you give them. So if two plants are in a confined space together they will strangle and suffocate each other. I too have witnessed this in a dwc unit. I never said anything about bunching plants together. Different ball game.

The second part I underlined is misquoted... I did not say small plant small root system. I said BIG plant SMALL root system.

The last part is just silly and doesn't warrant an answer.
 
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