Washingtonia Robusta root damage importance.

[IVO]

Hello! I have 3 washingtonia robustas growing from seeds in 1.5 gallon pots. This spring I'm going to repot them into bigger ones. So my question is. How important to them is root damage, because some of roots are sticking out from drain holes and there is no way rather that clip them off? 

My 6 moths old palms and me on the picture.

[Reynevan]

37 minutes ago, IVO said:

Hello! I have 3 washingtonia robustas growing from seeds in 1.5 gallon pots. This spring I'm going to repot them into bigger ones. So my question is. How important to them is root damage, because some of roots are sticking out from drain holes and there is no way rather that clip them off? 

My 6 moths old palms and me on the picture.

That is an impressive growth! Do you use some artificial lights?
 

[IVO]

26 minutes ago, Reynevan said:

That is an impressive growth! Do you use some artificial lights?
 

Actually no, not even fertilize, just keep them on sunny side. Here in Latvia we have cold climate so they never be transplanted outside. Hope everything will be alright with them. 

Edited September 9, 2020 by IVO

[lzorrito]

2 hours ago, IVO said:

Hello! I have 3 washingtonia robustas growing from seeds in 1.5 gallon pots. This spring I'm going to repot them into bigger ones. So my question is. How important to them is root damage, because some of roots are sticking out from drain holes and there is no way rather that clip them off? 

My 6 moths old palms and me on the picture.

Hi! Nice Washintonias! They are really very happy . Good work!

You can pull them gently out of the pot. Just lay down the pot and pull smoothly and may you shake it a bit in order to loose the roots if they seem stuck. Can you post a photo of the roots coming out?

Mine are planted double in small pots and short on water so I can control their growth, because if given space and water...they will overgrow easily.

[IVO]

2 hours ago, lzorrito said:

Hi! Nice Washintonias! They are really very happy . Good work!

You can pull them gently out of the pot. Just lay down the pot and pull smoothly and may you shake it a bit in order to loose the roots if they seem stuck. Can you post a photo of the roots coming out?

Mine are planted double in small pots and short on water so I can control their growth, because if given space and water...they will overgrow easily.

Wow, such a beauty you have! 

Sorry for muddy images, but roots of mine looks something like that. Think until spring will be bigger. Don't want to transplant them now, its end of the summer, cold, rainy september and I think they are slowed down maybe for winter.

 

[lzorrito]

Hummm....they are getting quite out of the pot holes! Do you let water settle down on the tray?  On the first photo you can see how healthy roots are, and they growing new branchs which means they have access either to water or high moisture levels. If it wasn't so, roots wouldn't came out like that, because air contact it's enough to dry them, and that's what we will try to do. Lets see if we can solve this without repotting or damaging the roots. I think we must change some of your watering procedures.

How often do you water them? Water settling down on the tray? What kind of potting soil are you using?

Don't worry  everything will be alright with them.

[IVO]

13 hours ago, lzorrito said:

Hummm....they are getting quite out of the pot holes! Do you let water settle down on the tray?  On the first photo you can see how healthy roots are, and they growing new branchs which means they have access either to water or high moisture levels. If it wasn't so, roots wouldn't came out like that, because air contact it's enough to dry them, and that's what we will try to do. Lets see if we can solve this without repotting or damaging the roots. I think we must change some of your watering procedures.

How often do you water them? Water settling down on the tray? What kind of potting soil are you using?

Don't worry  everything will be alright with them.

Hmm.. Watering depends on how dry soil is,but sometimes it gets on plate below pot very quickly, I think roots developed some empty space.

I use just a soil mix for palms with bird droppings.

I'll try to avoid water settling down on the tray. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by IVO

[lzorrito]

3 hours ago, IVO said:

Hmm.. Watering depends on how dry soil is,but sometimes it gets on plate below pot very quickly, I think roots developed some empty space.

I use just a soil mix for palms with bird droppings.

I'll try to avoid water settling down on the tray. 

Maybe you will need to repot, or add more potting soil. Roots are going for the tray water. Than means the soil is not holding enough water...

For what you telling it's very fast draining, so either roots are pot bound or the soil is decaying fast or it's simply gone (typical) and needs some filling or even repotting. The soil is not holding enough water, it's too draining or even soilless, so roots are going deeper.

You must check then. Try to push the soil down, on the sides of the pot, gently using your finger(s). If it goes down in the pot, add some new soil until it's even and water. If not, it's probably pot bound and needs repotting.

 

[Frond-friend42]

From the look of them, I would grip it by the base of the stem while holding the pot  over a tub or sink where you can let dirt out and as you tip the pot over, (with your new up-sized pots nearby). As they and the dirt are falling out, gently use your other finger to guide the roots through the holes. I think you will have minimal root loss/ damage this way.

Really nice looking Washies.

[DoomsDave]

@IVO nice to meet you!

You're a great palm daddy for your palms.

Everyone has good advice, and I'll offer more: plant something that will stay smaller.

See my private message (PM) for free palm seeds.

 

[chad2468emr]

These are some REALLY healthy washies and that's impressive since they are kept exclusively indoors. Good on you!

Honestly, I might be in the minority here, but if it's JUST September and they're already reaching out of the bottom of the pots, I would recommend repotting now. It's going to be a long winter with them already being outgrown of their containers if they aren't moved now. I don't know how little light they're getting, but as long as you are seeing them get 6+ hours of bright light I wouldn't imagine that it would cause an issue, and once repotted, since they're kept warm and indoors they might even see some relatively decent growth throughout the winter and then REALLY take off once you get to spring. 

Regarding damaging the roots, I'd personally take a pair of wire cutters and cut through those plastic pots so you can more easily guide the roots out of the holes, and that should ensure that there is minimal (if any) root damage. Once you pot them up, I'd make sure their soil is airy and well-draining to ensure that they don't get water-logged this winter when lighting is low and they aren't drinking that much water. You might also want to look into grow lights too, if lighting gets REAL low and you want to see continued growth momentum.

[DCA_Palm_Fan]

On 9/17/2020 at 10:58 AM, chad2468emr said:

These are some REALLY healthy washies and that's impressive since they are kept exclusively indoors. Good on you!

Honestly, I might be in the minority here, but if it's JUST September and they're already reaching out of the bottom of the pots, I would recommend repotting now. It's going to be a long winter with them already being outgrown of their containers if they aren't moved now. I don't know how little light they're getting, but as long as you are seeing them get 6+ hours of bright light I wouldn't imagine that it would cause an issue, and once repotted, since they're kept warm and indoors they might even see some relatively decent growth throughout the winter and then REALLY take off once you get to spring. 

Regarding damaging the roots, I'd personally take a pair of wire cutters and cut through those plastic pots so you can more easily guide the roots out of the holes, and that should ensure that there is minimal (if any) root damage. Once you pot them up, I'd make sure their soil is airy and well-draining to ensure that they don't get water-logged this winter when lighting is low and they aren't drinking that much water. You might also want to look into grow lights too, if lighting gets REAL low and you want to see continued growth momentum.

I was about to say something similar.  Id def try to cut the pots to save the roots.    I too don't think that its too late to repot since they are indoor palms for now.

 

What will you do with them once they outgrow your space?  They are fairly fast growers and grow to be very very tall palms.  

[lzorrito]

@IVO how about an update? Did you repot them?

[IVO]

On 9/30/2020 at 12:36 AM, lzorrito said:

@IVO how about an update? Did you repot them?

Hello! Sorry for a late update, was quite busy! 

My green friends seems to be ok, repoted them into 8 gallon pots as soon as heating season started. Roots came out suprisingly easy, just squeezed pots from all sides and gently took them out against trunk.

There are only two of them now. One palm is moved to my parents house.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by IVO

[IVO]

On 9/29/2020 at 12:29 AM, DCA_Palm_Fan said:

I was about to say something similar.  Id def try to cut the pots to save the roots.    I too don't think that its too late to repot since they are indoor palms for now.

 

What will you do with them once they outgrow your space?  They are fairly fast growers and grow to be very very tall palms.  

Have no idea at this moment regarding overgrow. I'll try to keep them 2.5m tall with pot size.

There is no way to plant them outside, because of cold climate.

Palms are rarity here. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by IVO

[lzorrito]

On 10/23/2020 at 8:21 AM, IVO said:

My green friends seems to be ok, repoted them into 8 gallon pots as soon as heating season started. Roots came out suprisingly easy, just squeezed pots from all sides and gently took them out against trunk.

There are only two of them now. One palm is moved to my parents house.

Looking good, IVO!

Lucky parents...!

[JohnAndSancho]

Sorry to bump an old topic, but I'd rather do that than clutter the forums -

 

My Washy is on my patio in a 14"/10 gallon bottom watering pot. I noticed this afternoon that just like Ivo's, I've got roots coming out the bottom of the pot into the water tray. 

Should I follow the same advice above? Are the bottom watering pots a bad idea for Washies? I know they're fine for water hogs like my C. Cataractarum. 

[JohnAndSancho]

Another option is, i could unpot it and add some mesh material to the bottom of the pot to keep the roots from going through the bottom of the pot. I did this with my baby Weddellianums 

[Bismarckiafan]

To JohnandSancho:

If you are worried about the Washy roots growing out of the pot, rest assured it is no big deal. You can always cut them off and the palm will be perfectly OK with it.  You should only repot your Washy if it is completely rootbound in its old pot. No matter how big a pot you will give it, it will always grow out of it. They are tough, quick-growing beasts. There will come a time when your Washy will grow so big and heavy that it will be impossible to pot it up. Then you can try and prune its roots at the bottom. On two occasions I cut off  as much as the bottom half of the rootball in spring and my Wahies never skipped a beat during the growing season. At any rate, you are always safe to cut off a third of the roots if you want to keep it in its old pot and add new soil at the bottom of the pot instead of potting it up forever.

As for your pots and watering, if you don´t get several yellowing/browning leaves at the same time on your Washy palm, your palm is fine. If more than one leaf is yellowing, it is a sign of too much water. In summer you can still get the yellowing leaves if you forget to fertilize the Washy palm regularly.

[JohnAndSancho]

2 hours ago, Bismarckiafan said:

your palm is fine.

Thank you for all the reassuring info!