Can I plant my tall lanky plants deeper in pots or should I just cut them off shorter/top? If I top there will be no leaves, that is why I ask. I was re-potting and most were root bound(just going around bottom of pot ); these are seedlings from last year sitting in green house; now time to do something as temp seems to be stable here in N FL.
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Top or plant deeper
- Thread starter MoWhiskey
- Start date
There are many differing opinions on this, but a few of the questions I have is how tall are they and why would there be no leaves if you topped them? Your statement "these are seedlings from last year" - do you mean you started them at the end of last year so now are seedlings, or they were seedlings last year and now they're grown?Â
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I'm going to assume they are currently seedlings. If you mean that you would severely prune them to the point that you cut off the branches but keep the growth nodes, ok. But if you are thinking you're going to cut down below the bottom-most branches, no way. You need to keep some growth nodes or they won't put out any more branches. I like to keep at least 6 nodes when I overwinter, though I no longer prune that severely. You can plant deeper, but be sure to put them in larger pots if you're going to do that. Note you can prune the roots as well as branches. Topping has the benefit of forcing the plant to put out more branches, and since pods only develop at the joins of branches, this should increase production. If your focus is production, then, this is a good approach. I tend to have more plants than I need, so I don't top. Plus, I think the plants left on their own or pruned just minimally are generally more attractive than severely-pruned plants. But that's me.Â
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I'm going to assume they are currently seedlings. If you mean that you would severely prune them to the point that you cut off the branches but keep the growth nodes, ok. But if you are thinking you're going to cut down below the bottom-most branches, no way. You need to keep some growth nodes or they won't put out any more branches. I like to keep at least 6 nodes when I overwinter, though I no longer prune that severely. You can plant deeper, but be sure to put them in larger pots if you're going to do that. Note you can prune the roots as well as branches. Topping has the benefit of forcing the plant to put out more branches, and since pods only develop at the joins of branches, this should increase production. If your focus is production, then, this is a good approach. I tend to have more plants than I need, so I don't top. Plus, I think the plants left on their own or pruned just minimally are generally more attractive than severely-pruned plants. But that's me.Â
   When you say "last year" do you mean you started them in December, 2013 for this year or were they starts for last year's growing season? (Pics?) The reason I ask is that if they are old and the stems are starting to stiffen up and turn brown (bark) they might be past the window for planting deeper. I've found that once a plant's stem gets beyond a certain point in maturity, they lose the ability to grow adventitious roots. If planted deeper, they will likely just get stem rot. A buddy of mine had a rough crop of peppers last year because of this.Â
   As far as topping goes, I (personally) wouldn't recommend that. Like geeme said, minimally pruned plants are more attractive. Also, the copious side-branching that results from topping can lead to a weaker plant that is more likely to be damaged during a storm. And excessive bushiness can prevent airflow - leading to foliar disease.Â
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edit:
   Just saw your pic. Just leave 'em alone and get them in the sun. (gradually, if need be). I think they're beyond the point of being able to plant deeper. And they'll need those leaves to produce energy to flush out some more nodes. There's not much there, but what is there looks healthy. Good luck!
   As far as topping goes, I (personally) wouldn't recommend that. Like geeme said, minimally pruned plants are more attractive. Also, the copious side-branching that results from topping can lead to a weaker plant that is more likely to be damaged during a storm. And excessive bushiness can prevent airflow - leading to foliar disease.Â
Â
edit:
   Just saw your pic. Just leave 'em alone and get them in the sun. (gradually, if need be). I think they're beyond the point of being able to plant deeper. And they'll need those leaves to produce energy to flush out some more nodes. There's not much there, but what is there looks healthy. Good luck!