Can I bury a woody stem?

[zem]

Hi. I have big plants that are several months old and have a woody thick stem and are rootbound and I am transplanting into big containers and I would like to bury the stem about 6" deeper and I am worried that the stem might rot instead of growing new roots since it is woody. I have buried many clones that had green stems before but this time they grew very big and thick. Anyone tried something similar? Thanks.

 

[pute]

Hmmm, that is a good one zem. One way to find out. I do the same with clones and maters but never a woody stem. I would think it would be fine but I like you have never tired this.

 

[SubmarineGirl]

I covered about 4” of mine during their final transplant outside. The plants were pretty big already 3 ft tall or more with established stems. its been more than a couple weeks and they don’t seem to have minded it. I figure I do it to tomatoes all the time. Now I’m not sure if you will get much root growth there but I don’t think it will hurt your plants imo

 

[WeedHopper]

Ppl cover their tree trunks all the time and put flowers around them with stones holding the soil. I have done it many times and it didn't hurt the tree trunk at all.
Your woody stem if you scratch it stills has green under the bark so it will be fine because it's alive.
Now if you bury a piece of dead wood it will definitely rot but not a plant that is alive and growing.

 

[boo]

one exception to covering roots is oaks...cover the roots of southern oaks and they will die...

 

[SubmarineGirl]

We lost a pine tree once building up our land with dirt covered about the bottom 2 foot of it died the next spring

 

[MechaniMan]

I've covered mine several times, but with only probably 2 in., soil settled in buckets from watering and exposed root. I pulled one out before flipping to flower, they grew a lot of roots in 3 months.
I think your soil will settle out from watering over time.

 

[oldfogey8]

Could you put a sleeve around the stem(like a soup can, metal flashing or even a solo cup) and bury the plant deeper in the pot then fill the pot with soil outside of the sleeve? I am assuming you want new soil for the roots to grow into. I am not sure if they will grow up above a woody stem but the sleeve would prevent the dirt from touching the woody stem if done with care I think.

 

[user 60570]

I just buried mine yesterday and I know after I trimmed up the bottoms several of the plants were buried 6” inches or more above the dirt line

I’ve done it every year for a lot of years and no problems

 

[WeedHopper]

Yeah that.

 

[zem]

Great help there thank you all. I will bury the stems and i will try to limit any watering from above to prevent the stem from rotting. I did experience stems rotting before when i raised the flooding level in my hydro too high. I am hoping to get new roots shooting from the stem like you would with green stems, do you think that scraping a little on the stem before burying it will help roots to grow from there? The stem is holding the entire plant and I would not want to hurt it in any way. Thanks!

 

[oldfogey8]

If it were me, I wouldn’t scrape the stem. Especially with a first try at burying the stem. The ‘bark’ I think is like skin which is a barrier to infection.

 

[RosterMan]

There is absolutely no need to "scrape away the surface of the stem" and you could risk infection entering the plant. and unless you explain the depth of the "scrape" you could be recommending damaging the phloem tubes, which feed the roots with energy, Cannabis stems, like those of some other plants such as Tomatoes, will grow roots out of buried stems no prob without any intervention. Burying stem is a good idea if you have lanky seedlings or cuts, it always works. You may also want to coat the part of stem to be buried with cloning hormone to stimulate new root growth.

 

[user 60570]

Great help there thank you all. I will bury the stems and i will try to limit any watering from above to prevent the stem from rotting. I did experience stems rotting before when i raised the flooding level in my hydro too high. I am hoping to get new roots shooting from the stem like you would with green stems, do you think that scraping a little on the stem before burying it will help roots to grow from there? The stem is holding the entire plant and I would not want to hurt it in any way. Thanks!

no it won’t help

if you were taking clones then yes

 

[zem]

There is absolutely no need to "scrape away the surface of the stem" and you could risk infection entering the plant. and unless you explain the depth of the "scrape" you could be recommending damaging the phloem tubes, which feed the roots with energy, Cannabis stems, like those of some other plants such as Tomatoes, will grow roots out of buried stems no prob without any intervention. Burying stem is a good idea if you have lanky seedlings or cuts, it always works. You may also want to coat the part of stem to be buried with cloning hormone to stimulate new root growth.

The plants are tall and the lower part is weak or dead because it was rootbound and overcrowded so now i have big containers and i want to gain some height and i think it is a good idea not to have all that empty stem in the lower part so i will bury it.

 

[SubmarineGirl]

Great help there thank you all. I will bury the stems and i will try to limit any watering from above to prevent the stem from rotting. I did experience stems rotting before when i raised the flooding level in my hydro too high. I am hoping to get new roots shooting from the stem like you would with green stems, do you think that scraping a little on the stem before burying it will help roots to grow from there? The stem is holding the entire plant and I would not want to hurt it in any way. Thanks!

I wouldn’t scrape the skin. This my stress out your plant