Soo sorry that you lost a plant, but tell us more. What was the plant?

Most losses come from the roots drying out during the repot or immediately after. If you're confident the roots didn't dry out during the repotting session, is it possible that the fraction of the soil occupied by the main root volume was allowed to get too dry at any point subsequent to the session?

Another question that should be asked is, what was the plant's state of vitality when it was repotted - healthy .... or not so much?

Al

Thanks so much for responding.

Well it was the Calotropis procera kind of "Giant Milkweed" - a seedling that I thought was large enough for a transplant. But it may just have been too young to survive the trauma.

(That's why I was interested in low-trauma up-potting procedure for the next one, and started that seed directly in a gritty mix.)

To answer your main questions, the seedling was small but healthy looking, the transplant was quick, included a couple of brief dips into water to loosen sticky peat, and then into a pre-moistened gritty mix. For the first few days, it was watered (no fert) 2-3x per day. It did not resume growth, thinned and lost color, and when finally removed, the roots were no longer attached.

Around here, Calotropis will really be an indoor growth experiment since it's listed as zone 10+, where, under those conditions, it can grow like a small tree with very deep roots.

There seems to be little container info, but it is said to do best in "deep, well-drained soil." Some online sources say that it "resists transplanting because of a long easily damaged taproot". What I saw were a few roots of equal length (~3").

At least for me, it seems to grow very slowly. But with little growing experience of anything, can't tell if that's intrinsic, or due to the below optimal external conditions.

This post was edited by acg85 on Fri, Oct 3, 14 at 22:22

Good to know that it was a potentially finicky transplant.

What was the light exposure after the re-potting?

From the description of the paling, perhaps the watering was actually too much...or, perhaps, the fertilization could have begun sooner?

Josh

Since the plant is semi-deciduous where it naturally occurs, I would expect it wants to be transplanted before its spring push or possibly subsequent to it losing its leaves in the fall. Whether it actually loses it's leaves or not isn't particularly important in determining when the best time to repot is.

I wouldn't worry about the taproot or taproots. It/they get(s) removed during the first repot, anyway. Even trees known to have extremely deep taproots have ALL their roots removed by cutting through the taproot at ground level and are treated as cuttings when used as bonsai, which isn't THAT far removed from growing in a pot. After all, 'BONSAI' means 'tree in a pot'.

Al

This is a such a great place to learn.

Thanks Al, for the additional information on the transplant timing and root structures. (With your experience, I'd bet Calotropis could be turned into a successful bonsai :)

And thanks Josh - well, it was dim light for a few days, then back to under a fluorescent near a window. Interesting idea. I wasn't thinking about over-watering between the 1-1-1, and the wick hanging down from the bottom. My newbie instinct was to keep the mix moist during recovery, and gave it sips when the top dried out (which was a couple of times a day).

I do have a few more seeds if need be, but the second one already looks like it's doing very well in the gritty mix where it was started - first real leaves just peeking out.