At Native Forest Nursery, we are passionate advocates of air pruning, and that is why we grow all of our over 100,000 containerized plants in RediRoot™ Air Pruning Containers. In this brief post, we outline the definition and advantages of air pruning and root making to explain the how and why behind this revolutionary process.
The practice of air pruning was introduced by plant pioneer and innovator Dr. Carl Whitcomb, based on his four decades of horticultural research. It’s basically the process of introducing dry air into the plant root system, causing the root’s tip to dehydrate or desiccate due to the absence of the high humidity the root needs to survive and grow. Once the root comes in contact with the air and “prunes” itself from the lack of humidity the root consequently branches out into large numbers of secondary roots. This results in a container more evenly filled with roots and root tips as well as a healthy, multi-branched root structure that enables the plant to thrive within the container and after transplanting.
Let’s take a moment to contrast air pruning versus root growth in conventional solid walled containers.
In a typical container or pot, where roots aren’t exposed to air, roots too often circle around the container or pot in a constricted design that may ultimately strangle the plant. Root circling is out of sight within the walls of the container where the plant’s roots may spiral, kink, or twist. Deformed root systems are unable to absorb the necessary water and nutrients causing the plant to suffer from abnormal and sub-optimal growth. When transplanted or installed in a restoration project, the plant may die altogether.
For more information Plastic Plant Root Ball, please get in touch with us!