TAMMY: Indoors or out, they're beautiful, colourful,
striking and often delicious.
That's why we love them
and why a plant's leaves and flowers get most of the attention.
But spare a thought
for what's happening further down below the surface,
busily feeding, supplying moisture, to support all the glamour above.
I'm, of course, talking about the roots.
I'm gonna show you the main types,
where to find them and how to treat them right.
The key to good healthy roots is choosing the right soil
to make sure they have access to air and water.
So let's dig deeper.
For plants growing indoors, there's lots of potting mixes available.
Make sure you choose the right ones for your plants.
Cacti and succulents love a free-draining mix
and that's why this mix is made up of lots of gritty textures
to ensure the water drains freely through it.
For most indoor plants, a premium potting mix is fine.
It's made up of composted wood bark
and lots of organic matter and other goodies
to ensure that it stays moist
but also allows the water to drain freely too.
For plants growing outdoors,
heavy soils tend to have a high clay content,
which means they hold a lot of water and take longer to dry out.
This means that roots that like dry periods may experience overwatering.
On the other hand, light soils contain a lot more sand,
which means they drain really freely and have lots of aeration,
so root systems that like moist soils make experience underwatering.
To find out more about the soils your plants prefer,
check the label or ask your local nursery.
But whatever the soil type,
make sure the water is getting all the way down the roots
and not just the top layer of the soil
to help roots develop and mature evenly.
Over time, plants have evolved with different kinds of root systems
that serve similar functions but in different ways.
For example, tap roots, like the humble carrot.
The root consists of one main single organ
with only a few light root hairs.
It's strong and tough
to allow it to penetrate down deep to access water.
Most of the plant sugars are stored here,
which is why carrots taste sweet when cooked.
Fibrous roots, like on this peperomia and ficus,
are what most plants have.
They grow out from the centre
and form a network, all in search of water.
Adventitious roots, like on this orchid,
are always looking for opportunities.
They're creeping out in search of water or clinging to rocks and trees.
Monsteras also have adventitious roots.
They're vining plants and they use their roots
to cling onto the tree trunks
as they find their way 20m or 30m up into the forest canopy.
They can be a little bit unsightly,
so if you find them ugly, simply trim them back,
or you can tuck them into the soil surface.
Rhizomes, like on the snake plant
and also the rabbit's foot fern grow sideways
to send out new shoots further along from the original plant.
Rhizomes are in fact modified stems,
so they send out new shoots and fibrous roots at the new node.
You can find clumping roots on plants like the flamingo flower,
zebra plant and spider plant.
There's a smart reason why plants grow their roots in different ways.
And with plants that have rhizomes and clumping roots,
it's a way of reproducing without needing a flower to be pollinated.
The plant sends out a new growth, usually off the root or stem,
that has the potential to become a plant of its own.
And it's easy to take advantage of this to create more plants.
So let's divide this zebra plant.
You can see that it's quite crowded in here.
There's lot of individual plants and it's really bursting out of its pot.
It's OK to leave in here 'cause it looks quite full,
but by dividing it, we create lots of new plants for us
to share with friends or place around our homes.
Give the pot a good squeeze to help get it out of its home.
And hopefully it comes out just like that.
You can use secateurs
but I'm just gonna use my hands to divide this plant up.
The plants will naturally come away.
You may have to struggle just a tiny bit
but don't worry, you're not hurting the plant.
They're quite resilient.
Just like that.
So you can see there's a bit of excess roots here,
which we can just tease off all the soil
and we can just pinch them back a little bit
so they can fit in their new home.
So that's a good-size clump there.
So I'm gonna part-fill my new pots.
Use a good-quality potting mix,
so it'll hold moisture but also allow it to drain.
Place my plants roughly in the centre.
Make sure, when you are planting up,
don't plant it too deep or too shallow.
Just to the same line where the existing potting mix was before.
Otherwise you risk the roots drying out or rotting.
And there's your plant you can now place around the home
or give to a friend.
Now I'm going to show you how you can divide a plant with rhizomes,
like this snake plant.
The process is very similar to clumping plants
with a few key differences.
So squeeze the pot again to help release it from its home.
Should come out hopefully with ease.
There we go.
So you can see there are three little pups, or baby plants,
that are emerging from the mother plant.
So they grow out through rhizomes.
So we've moved a little bit of the soil away
and here you can see the rhizomes
and then the fibrous roots emerging from there.
So this little plant is ready to be cut and divided.
Place it in the centre, roughly...
..and then backfill.
And there's your new baby plant.
As you can see, plant roots are amazing.
They provide the hardworking and often invisible support
to the plants that we know and love.
So treat them well and they'll return the favour
with lots of lush, healthy growth, both indoors and out.