Plant Root Care

Keeping your plant roots healthy is key to growing healthy plants! One of the best and easiest things you can do for healthy plant roots is regularly adding HydroBoost to your water tank. Learn more about HydroBoost's many benefits here!

Roots are the foundation of your plants and have many functions. They provide the anchor needed to keep the plant in place, and they act as a lifeline by taking up air, water, and nutrients. Therefore it's crucial to show them care!

What do healthy roots look like?

1. Healthy plant roots will be fairly smooth to the touch.They vary in shades of white*, most often appearing as a creamy white, especially on new growth. Sometimes, nutrients will cause a shading effect or discoloration on the roots. Certain species, like Swiss Chard, have naturally colorful roots.
2. If you notice any browning* spots or discoloration, it most likely means there is a bacterial build-up issue. Typically these roots will be slimy, tangled, and may even have a rotting odor.
3. While the yPod stores each plant’s main root system, some hydroponic plants can produce additional, adventitious roots. These are roots that generate from other parts of the plant - like the stem tissue - rather than the root system.

*The exception to this is our bare root Strawberry plants. Upon arrival, you'll see their roots are brown, which is perfectly normal and a result of the plants' dormancy. Once you prep and place your Strawberries on your Gardyn upon their arrival, you'll see the roots lighten in color over time.

How do you prune the roots?

1. Remove the yPod (not the yCube) from the Gardyn to begin your inspection.

2. Decide whether you have healthy or unhealthy roots. Do not keep roots that look brown, black, or unhealthy. Only leave healthy roots and trim the rest away.*

*This does not apply to bare root Strawberries upon their arrival! Click here to learn how to prep your Strawberries' roots before you add them to your Gardyn.

3. Bring back healthy roots into the yPod

If they are healthy, gently push (with your finger or a paintbrush) as many loose roots into the yPod as possible without removing the yCube from the yPod.

4. If your yPod is full with roots, trim stray roots with clean scissors or pinch with your fingers.

Be mindful to trim the roots ONLY when they extend outside the yPod. Over-trimmed roots can often struggle to meet the nutritional and water uptake demands of the shoots, and cause your plants stress.

5. If the yPod is stuffed with unhealthy-looking roots (brown, slimy, smelly), we recommend starting routine HydroBoost additions to your water tank. Root rot remediation is just one of its many benefits! Alternatively, you may choose to restart your plant with a fresh yCube.

 

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