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Transplanting plants (i might be stupid)

ablizno

ablizno

So i have 3 plants in this long pot, and I'm wondering if i should transplant them now or wait till spring. I also dont really know how to go about removing them from this big thing. I honestly thought it was bigger when i got it, didnt really expect these fatalii plants to grow outward so much. The Japs i grew before kinda just grew straight up. Should i just dig around these, or try to take them out in square chunks?  In one place i can feel a root less than an inch from the top of the soil, is it okay to break this root?

havent got a response in my glog so sorry if its against the rules to ask here, just figured id have better luck here.

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     +1 on root entanglement^. At this point, you're probably better off just cutting two of them out. You'll get better production off of one plant in that pot than three. And trying to detangle or sever roots to separate them will cause a lot of stress (on all four of you). Expect dieback and lots of leaf loss if you choose to go that route.
 
I would seperate now, since the longer you leave it the more tangled they will get.

Try to pull it all out in one piece then gently seperate them trying not to break up the dirt too much. You could just get an old saw and cut the dirt into 3rds this should leave the soil and roots mostly intact (I've done this with success). It's ok to cut some of the roots as long as the majority are not disturbed.

Also doing this in cooler weather helps prevent any shock.

Good luck
 
Either way if you separate or cut roots you gotta cut back foliage too to minimize shock to the overall plant.
Sooner than later would be a good idea when it comes to separating.
 
I would fill a tub or barrel with water and dilute some sort of root stimulant like superthrive.
Slowly dunk the plants in the water and wash off as much soil as possible. The "free" roots will make themselves visible and the tangled ones will be easier to work with. You might have to cut a few roots but make the cuts as far away from the root base if at all possible.
Submerging the foliage at this point won't hurt anything but when you're done you want to lightly spray water on the leaves to wash the debris off of them.
When you repot, make sure to use good quality potting soil and drench really good to get out any air pockets that might form between the roots.
 
Keep away from direct sunlight and excessive heat for a couple weeks until you see regrowth happening. Don't overwater but don't let them completely dry out like you normally would until they look like they're growing again.
 
Or......
 
dig a hole in your yard the shape of tht container and drop the 3 plants in it...may the best pods win.
 
Hawaiianero said:
Either way if you separate or cut roots you gotta cut back foliage too to minimize shock to the overall plant.
Sooner than later would be a good idea when it comes to separating.
 
I would fill a tub or barrel with water and dilute some sort of root stimulant like superthrive.
Slowly dunk the plants in the water and wash off as much soil as possible. The "free" roots will make themselves visible and the tangled ones will be easier to work with. You might have to cut a few roots but make the cuts as far away from the root base if at all possible.
Submerging the foliage at this point won't hurt anything but when you're done you want to lightly spray water on the leaves to wash the debris off of them.
When you repot, make sure to use good quality potting soil and drench really good to get out any air pockets that might form between the roots.
 
Keep away from direct sunlight and excessive heat for a couple weeks until you see regrowth happening. Don't overwater but don't let them completely dry out like you normally would until they look like they're growing again.
 
Or......
 
dig a hole in your yard the shape of tht container and drop the 3 plants in it...may the best pods win.
Click to expand...
Thank you, i didnt think of root stimulants but ill try that, think ill wait to get a few pods before trying to seperate them, might just cut through the roots and hope for the best. Ill also cut back some of it like you suggested. Florida doesnt have the best soil so i really would like to keep them out of the ground.
 
I would highly recommend that you really consider what Chris suggested - just move them all together without untangling the roots to a large pot. If you try to untangle the roots at this point, you will risk killing off one or more of the plants. It's pretty common for people to say that you need to separate them, but in reality this is not a need. Somewhere on this site is a video from The Hippy Seed Co in Australia, where they show "a" chile plant in a large pot - it's actually 2 or 3 plants very closely grown together. The density of the canopy formed by the leaves seems to help production when grown this way. The Hippy Seed Co showed the plant in the video but, if I recall correctly, they actually got it from someone else - point being that it wasn't just a seed company undertaking a grand experiment. I have also grown multiple chile plants in single pots, and none have suffered in size or production for it. The big key is that the pot needs to be large enough to handle all the roots.
 
Something to look for when selecting pots for a given plant is the measurements often given by the commercial sellers of that plant type. chileplants.com, for example, lists common heights for each variety they sell. Fatalii plants are typically much larger than jalapeno plants, which is one of the reasons you're seeing a big difference. Also, jalapenos are annuums, which have a typical growth habit of a central base stem that forks into a 'Y' and the rest of the stems come from the two arms of the 'Y'. Fataliis are chinenses, which don't have the 'Y' habit and tend to get broader. Fataliis are still fairly tall, as well, but just broader than most annuums. Even within the chinense types, there are varieties that don't get very tall but do get very broad - Congo Trinidad being a good example. All this to say that if you can't find good size info, post in the growing thread or status update and plenty of people will be happy to help with info.
 
If you do choose to separate them, use water to break up the soil. I've managed some pretty impressive things with that method.
 
geeme said:
I would highly recommend that you really consider what Chris suggested - just move them all together without untangling the roots to a large pot. If you try to untangle the roots at this point, you will risk killing off one or more of the plants. It's pretty common for people to say that you need to separate them, but in reality this is not a need. Somewhere on this site is a video from The Hippy Seed Co in Australia, where they show "a" chile plant in a large pot - it's actually 2 or 3 plants very closely grown together. The density of the canopy formed by the leaves seems to help production when grown this way. The Hippy Seed Co showed the plant in the video but, if I recall correctly, they actually got it from someone else - point being that it wasn't just a seed company undertaking a grand experiment. I have also grown multiple chile plants in single pots, and none have suffered in size or production for it. The big key is that the pot needs to be large enough to handle all the roots.
 
Something to look for when selecting pots for a given plant is the measurements often given by the commercial sellers of that plant type. chileplants.com, for example, lists common heights for each variety they sell. Fatalii plants are typically much larger than jalapeno plants, which is one of the reasons you're seeing a big difference. Also, jalapenos are annuums, which have a typical growth habit of a central base stem that forks into a 'Y' and the rest of the stems come from the two arms of the 'Y'. Fataliis are chinenses, which don't have the 'Y' habit and tend to get broader. Fataliis are still fairly tall, as well, but just broader than most annuums. Even within the chinense types, there are varieties that don't get very tall but do get very broad - Congo Trinidad being a good example. All this to say that if you can't find good size info, post in the growing thread or status update and plenty of people will be happy to help with info.
Click to expand...
 
okay thanks for the advice, this pot they are in now is like 2 feet long, should i get a big round pot and try to keep them straight or try to bend them into more of a circle? i dont really want to seperate them if they will still do well being stuck together, they are producing a lot of pods right now. I went ahead and got the superthrive, is it still okay to use as general nutes? i havent fed them at all.
JoynersHotPeppers said:
You could also put all 3 together in a massive pot :)
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any idea as to where to find one? Homedepot sells some big wooden ones but they are like $200
 
Check the local nursery and landscape companies.  Many hoard the old plastic barrels that young trees are grown and moved in.
Promise to buy a few bags of decent potting soil if they'll give you a big 20+gallon container.  
 
So long as each plant's root system has a "free sector" to grow into they'll all do just fine growing in close proximity.
You might want to 'train' each plant to grow away from the others.  Use short branches, chopsticks, whatever, to prop the plants away from each other.  Also, rotate the barrel periodically so they don't all lean toward the south. 
 
All good advice regarding keeping together and just potting up as is. Just gotta keep in mind, the larger the container, the harder it is to move it.
 
If you plan on keeping it in the same spot, a modified barrel or even trash can works. Or you can consider building a raised bed to hold some good quality soil. A few 8ft. 2x6 planks will get you a 4x4 planter. Go up 2 or 3 levels and you can have nearly a foot or more depth for roots to go crazy.
 
If you need to move them around much you are better off splitting them up.
 
That's my 2 cents anyways
 
Also, superthrive is not nutes. You still have to fert with something.
 
Hawaiianero said:
All good advice regarding keeping together and just potting up as is. Just gotta keep in mind, the larger the container, the harder it is to move it.
 
If you plan on keeping it in the same spot, a modified barrel or even trash can works. Or you can consider building a raised bed to hold some good quality soil. A few 8ft. 2x6 planks will get you a 4x4 planter. Go up 2 or 3 levels and you can have nearly a foot or more depth for roots to go crazy.
 
If you need to move them around much you are better off splitting them up.
 
That's my 2 cents anyways
 
Also, superthrive is not nutes. You still have to fert with something.
Click to expand...
 
Reading into superthrive i realized its not nutes, so ill be going to the local hydroponics/organics store and picking something up.
 
Living in florida i dont really need to worry about moving them too much, have been thinking about making a raised planter after seeing quite a few pricey ones at the home depot. Thanks you guys for all your advice, im quite new to all this.
 
One last question, how long until peppers are ripe? the big one seems to have been about that size for a while. It looks like its trying to ripen maybe? im just hoping its not ripe now, really want some white peppers.
 
Sorry not to get back to you sooner. You will want to give them something with good amounts of magnesium and calcium to help prevent blossom end rot (aka BER.) Note that blossom end rot does not always start on the blossom end of a pod - it can start on a side wall, too. I and many others use CalMag by Botanicare, but there are other fertilizers made for tomatoes that have good amounts of these in them; just read the labels well.
 
How long until peppers ripen? Forever and a freakin' day! ;)  One of the absolute hardest parts of growing chiles is just waiting for ripening. So many factors go into this, but the absolute best advice is to just be patient. Very, very patient.
 
Circle, square, whatever. It is true that the larger the pot the more dirt so the heavier and harder to move. Still, it's a good way to get a workout in. I wouldn't be too concerned about shape, just go larger and make it work. You don't have to train them away from each other, either - some people train them to twist around each other, seeming to form a single spiraling trunk. Some just let them keep doing what they do naturally. It's your choice as to whether you want to play with them a bit or not.
 
geeme said:
Sorry not to get back to you sooner. You will want to give them something with good amounts of magnesium and calcium to help prevent blossom end rot (aka BER.) Note that blossom end rot does not always start on the blossom end of a pod - it can start on a side wall, too. I and many others use CalMag by Botanicare, but there are other fertilizers made for tomatoes that have good amounts of these in them; just read the labels well.
 
How long until peppers ripen? Forever and a freakin' day! ;)  One of the absolute hardest parts of growing chiles is just waiting for ripening. So many factors go into this, but the absolute best advice is to just be patient. Very, very patient.
 
Circle, square, whatever. It is true that the larger the pot the more dirt so the heavier and harder to move. Still, it's a good way to get a workout in. I wouldn't be too concerned about shape, just go larger and make it work. You don't have to train them away from each other, either - some people train them to twist around each other, seeming to form a single spiraling trunk. Some just let them keep doing what they do naturally. It's your choice as to whether you want to play with them a bit or not.
Click to expand...
 
Can i use MagCal with Tiger Bloom? I have noticed a lot of leaves turning yellow recently and the plants seem sick, I just added Tiger Bloom and dont want to end up hurting the plants by adding MagCal now, I cant seem to figure out of there is Magnesium or Calcium in this fert.
 
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