Copiapoa roots

[iann]

Haven't had a good root picture for a while. Here are some from different forms of Copiapoa humilis.

[RAYWOODBRIDGE]

I find Copiapoa roots are excellent like yours Ian or they have little or none at all, there seems to be no middle ground I've found.

[ralphrmartin]

I think they are telling you to spend more money on pots...

[David Neville]

....... and compost!

[iann]

At the other extreme, Mammillaria plumosa. This has been hanging over the edge of its pot for a while, but when I pulled it out I was tempted to just put it back in the same pot.

It got a new pot in the end, just have to go easy on the water for a while.

[Brian]

When the roots grow to take up that much space I wonder where the soil goes.

Perhaps the roots eat the soil?

[ralphrmartin]

You know you have a mature collection when, as you repot plants, you try to find a smaller pot they will fit into, rather than a larger one.

[iann]

I don't know where the soil goes, but when I finally get round to repotting there is often nothing but stones in there.

[el48tel]

When the roots grow to take up that much space I wonder where the soil goes.

Perhaps the roots eat the soil?

Compost is "stuff" plus "space" .... something discussed ad nauseum on this forum, as to which Compost has the best ratio of components to give the best ratio of space to stuff. The roots must enter the zone called "space". A plant which has outgrown its pot has a root plus stuff zone like concrete meaning there's little space for root or water or the important component oxygen which roots need to prevent an anaerobic zone. As Compost ages, its organic component oxidises, if you are lucky, to carbon dioxide which needs space to escape. If you are unlucky, it's an anaerobic stinking mess.