Separate plants from one pot

15 years ago

Hi guys

This is my first time on the forum and first time I've grown anything in my entire life, so pls bear with me and my newbie mistakes. Im having a little trouble with my plants. About a month ago I bought 3 small tomatoes plants from a farmer market. Two of them are micro tom and one is sort of...unknown. I might have heard the seller said "golden". Anyway, I assumed that they are all small types so I pot them in one container (after reading this forum I realised I shouldn't -_-" ) Now, the unknown one is growing like mad....just over a foot and a half tall and growing! The micro toms are producing fruits nicely and stay small but now being overshadowed by the big one, I dont know how long they're going to last. I believe they need to be separated. The container is about 1ft x 1ft x 1ft (I know it's small but i thought the plants are small T_T ) and I have an identical one which i'm planning to use. The questions are

1. Is there any tricks to separate them while minimising the damage to the roots.

2. Assuming the one that got moved will suffer somehow, should I move the large plants or the well-doing micro toms.

3. Would the identical container(1x1x1ft) be large enough for my so-called golden tomatoes plant?

Sorry if the questions have been answer before but I have been searching this forum for an hr now and I can't find the answers I'm looking for.

Thank you in advance.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

deep___roots
15 years ago
Well, when we sow tomato seeds we usually get several sprouts in one pot. Once they reach a certain size with a couple of sets of leaves, we just pop the ball of soil out of the pot and crumble it until we can separate the plants and pot them on into individual pots.
I believe you could do the same thing, even at this late stage. I would use a slightly larger pot than you are presently considering for the "golden" item. And fortunately with tomato plants, you can plant them deep. This means you can strip the lower leaves and plant so that only the top several inches of the plant are above the soil. Roots will form along the buried stem.
When separating tomato plants from a ball of soil, gently crumble away the soil (sometimes a chopstick or other dull implement can be useful in this exercise). Then, handling the plants by the top leaves and stem, gently try to pull them apart from each other. Try not to touch the roots.
And after the separation, gradually acclimate them to full sun again, especially if it is very warm or just plain hot where you live.
Experience is how you learn and it is a road we have all travelled. Keep your eyes open and observe what happens. Good luck. I think you have a good chance of success here.
0
carolyn137
15 years ago
Agree with deep roots.

Find another larger container, at least 5 gal and hopefully more since you don't know if the gold plant is a determinate or indeterminate with long vines.

A 1 1/2 tall plant is not that big. Do as deep roots suggests and strip off the lower foliage and plant it deeply. Water well initially and keep it on the moist side and keep it shaded until you see new growth.

You haven't said where you garden so I don't know what your weather is like right now.

Carolyn
0
Related Discussions
which of these plants will look good in one pot?
Q
Comments (26)
Yeah, I am strongly considering another light fixture. I am very happy with the one I've got, but it won't fit on lower shelves - I need to shave off about an inch off the 13-inch depth of the fixture. Thinking of sawing grooves on the sides of the fixture, so that it can be slid into the shelving unit. Looks like it can be done. There are four shelves for plants with the fifth top shelf for the fixture itself. I am definitely not getting four fixtures in total - thinking on hanging the lights every other shelf, but setting pots looser, so that some light reaches the lower shelves, where more shade tolerant plants will live. >> are you combining [plants] because of limited light/shelving? Several reasons. I like the look of full pots. Aesthetics can be improved (I would not do it otherwise). Experimenting with combos is interesting. Limited space with good light (plenty of other space though). All of these are my reasons. >> another thing I would do - hang smaller plants off the sides, elevated mid-shelf to maximize exposure. Yes, I also thought of that. I deliberately bought the 4-foot wide light fixture for the 3-foot wide shelf to max the light availability for plants, and because 4-ft fixtures are so much more widely available. Those plants off the sides of the shelves are hopefully benefiting from the light, as well as from slightly higher humidity because plants are grouped.
...See More
Two plants in one pot??
Q
Comments (9)
Congratulations!!! You are going to have TRIPLETS!!!! Maybe even Quadruplets!! If you look at the photo, in the very center of the two dimensional view, there is clearly one crown. Off to the left, there is another. There is another on the back side of the plant, and there are so many leaves I wouldn't be surprised if there is more. It is possible that this was planted with multiple plants, or it may have just suckered very early in its growth. So, how can you tell where to split it? Some people think of the plant having a 'face', which is really the 'rosette' leaf formation. If you can pick a spot and see that all the leaves radiate out from that point, that would be the center of the plant. It is like looking into rose blossoms, there is a center and the petals surround it. When there are multiple crowns (or 'faces') and they are as crowded as this one is, many of the leaves from one crown will be mixed in with leaves of another, but usually not facing the same way. So when you see the rosette pattern, usually leaves facing in the wrong direction belong to another crown. I find it easienst to make these divisions after taking as much dirt off as possible. You are going to end up also taking/breaking off some leaves, and you can pot these up or not, depending on haw much room you have. After you have performed the surgery, don't despair that your nice full plant is now a bunch of small and sparse plants. They will grow and thrive in their new space. Thanks for the photo. Be sure to give us a post-op pic. Barbara
...See More
Four Kaffir Limes in one pot...when to separate?
Q
Comments (1)
Now! Citrus roots separate very easily. Take your time lightly shaking the dirt off the four of them. Untangle the smallest one first and place it in water then the next size up. Separate the larges two last, working more with the smaller one. This way you can separate all 4 with NO root damage. Get all 4 separated and into water first then replant as citrus do not like there roots in air. I have done a lot of work with citrus from seed. The link below connects you with a how to of mostly pictures with short write ups. Picture below is a seed grown sweetlee tangerine tree at 10 months age Click on any picture to open my photobucket display on growing citrus. All pics are open to public so feel free to around for ideas on what works. Here is a link that might be useful: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/citrus/msg0320572518736.html
...See More
Planting jade plants together in one pot
Q
Comments (1)
No plant likes to be rootbound. What they like is for their roots to NOT rot, which can happen so easily in a pot with dense soils, like ground dirt, or bagged mixes of predominantly tiny particles of peat. Having very little soil around the roots makes it difficult for even the most dedicated plant-overwaterers to rot the roots of their plants. This is not ideal, just a way of coping with inappropriate "ingredients" in a pot. A more porous, chunky soil (like cactus/palm, if one is buying bagged,) can have air in it even when it is moist. Roots need oxygen and moisture at the same time to function. When there are tiny particles of any kind in a pot, such as peat, sand, silt, clay, they filter into all of the tiny spaces in a pot, eliminating the air. "Overwatering" is the label and manifestation when roots have suffocated and/or rotted, combo of both. There is no one thing folks can put in to make soil better, but removing tiny particles of any type will definitely help. Over time, organic bits decompose into smaller bits, so even the "best" soil, if it has organic components, will need to be replaced when this happens. The speed at which this happens depends on many variables, but on average, about 1-3 years.
...See More
fonnie
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you both deep roots and Carolyn for the advices :) I'll give it a go tomorrow. I live in London by the way, it's suppose to be summer now but the old english weather means we're experiencing lots of rain and wind also. Terrible it is.
0

Separate plants from one pot

Comments (3)

deep___roots

carolyn137

Related Discussions

fonnie
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Separate plants from one pot

Comments (3)

deep___roots

carolyn137

Related Discussions

fonnieOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

fonnie
Original Author