Should I touch the roots of my plants in pots

Great question. You are right, there is a lot of conflicting advice out there on this one. It can be genuinely confusing when you’re standing there with a plant in your hand and two people are telling you completely different things. The good news is that both camps are actually correct. It just depends on what you’re looking at when the plant comes out of the pot.

Here’s a simple way to think about it. When you tip a plant out of its pot, have a good look at the roots before you do anything else. If they’re loose, white and healthy looking, and they don’t hold the shape of the pot when it comes out – leave them alone. There’s no benefit in disturbing roots that are already happy and growing in the right direction. In fact, unnecessary handling can stress the plant and set it back, particularly in warm weather when it’s already under pressure.

But if the roots are circling around the inside of the pot, or the whole root ball holds the shape of the container when you tip it out; that’s when you need to intervene. Circling roots are a real problem because if you just drop that plant in the ground the way it is, those roots can keep on circling as they grow. Over time they don’t spread outward the way they should, which means the plant struggles to anchor itself and to access water and nutrients from the surrounding soil. And in a worst case scenario, those circling roots can actually end up girdling the plant – essentially strangling it as the trunk thickens over the years. So in that case, gently tease the roots outward with your fingers, or if they’re really tightly bound, score down the sides of the root ball with a knife in two or three places. It sounds brutal but the plant will thank you for it.

It’s also worth mentioning that when you do plant, make sure the hole is wide enough for the roots to spread naturally – at least twice the width of the pot. Depth is less critical than width when it comes to giving roots the best start.

Now, does the type of plant matter? Absolutely. Australian natives, particularly in the protea family – your grevilleas, banksias, waratahs – are quite sensitive to root disturbance. With these, be as gentle as possible. If they are pot bound, tease rather than cut, and get them in the ground quickly without leaving the roots exposed to sun or wind. The same goes for most other natives – treat them with a light hand.

Vegetables and annuals on the other hand are generally quite forgiving – a bit of root teasing won’t set them back at all. And most herbs sit somewhere in the middle – they’ll tolerate gentle handling but don’t go overboard.