As a kid growing up in Easton, I remember getting seedling plants from my grandfather and neighbors, or planting seeds directly into the ground. This was before six-pack plant containers were created. But now, six-packs of annuals are a part of the spring planting ritual. Everything from eggplant and tomato plants, to basil and parsley, to marigold, petunia, and dusty miller ornamentals, all are grown throughout the Lehigh Valley.
One thing to keep in mind is that those annuals were started as seed in the greenhouse in mid-winter. Once they are delivered to the garden center or grocery store, they are already many weeks old. And the longer they stay unsold in the plastic six-packs, the more the roots keep growing. With annuals, root growth is fast because they have been supplied with fertilizer in the greenhouse to make them robust and ready for sale. Often by the time you get the little plants, the roots are completely filling the cells of the six-pack.
If you punch out the little plants from their cells and you see more soil than roots, it is okay to go ahead and plant them as is. However, many times it is the roots that dominate the square shaped cells and have entangled in the confined space, growing so long that they begin to strangle the plant.
Often as we get later into spring, the leftover annuals are sold at a bargain price and gardeners snatch them up at a low cost. Where roots of vegetable, herb or ornamental annuals have filled the cell, there is a chance that growth of the roots (and by connection, the entire plant) is stopped for the summer.
I remember when some annuals I had purchased late in the spring had roots trapped in the small cells. I planted them, not expecting they would never form roots beyond the shape of the cell all summer long. In autumn, when I cleaned up the garden, these plants were dug up. The roots were the same as they were at planting time in late spring—still showing the cube cell shape. In other words, they just sat there, alive, but not growing in the ground all season.
Here are some fail-proof ways I've learned to salvage root-bound annuals before planting in the ground:
- Remove them from the cells, all six at one time.
- Plunge them immediately into a bucket full of water. Let them absorb water for an hour or two.
- Come back and swish the root cube around in the water, vigorously if necessary. This loosens the soil and allows the roots to spread more naturally beyond a cube shape. The loose roots can now be safely planted into the ground.
- Loosen the soil down about 8-12 inches in the planting bed, add organic matter as needed and generally get the space ready for the new annuals before planting them.
- Fertilize lightly with slow release granular or a water-soluble fertilizer. Either option encourages new root growth, resulting in a more robust plant. I realized that fertilizing without loosening the roots in water beforehand ended up with even more tangled roots.
Gardening is so rewarding in so many ways. It would be a shame to look at stagnant plants, when it is so easy to avoid. Besides, swishing those little plants in a bucket of water is like being a kid again!
