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Pumpkin vines tend to drop roots at each major leaf along the vine.

I need to transplant several pumpkin vines that have dropped established roots in 5-6 spots each.

For the vine below, the black box is where I will be cutting the vine. However, there are established roots further out on the vine.

Am I better off severing the outside roots, thus keeping only the main root system in the black box?

Should I attempt to take each root-bunch to the destination? (May not be possible without damaging the vine in transit -- several heavy soil-heavy clumps)

Other ideas?

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Brian Webster
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1 Answers1

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This is just a suggestion - but time, I believe is of the essence.

I think you may have a problem with soil compaction around the place where those vines are taking root so I'm not sure how you're going to get it out of there. What you could do is cover the vine with soil where the topsoil where it is taking root. Wait a week so while keeping the soil pretty moist (dig a little trench around the secondary root). Then when you feel that the baby is ready to have it's umbilical cord snipped, do it. Dig deep and plop it in an empty pot for transporting to your garden.

Again, this is just a suggestion. But, I really doubt that the secondary root will survive being cut as is.

http://www.pumpkinnook.com/howto/vines.htm

Peter Turner
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  • This is actually quite close to what I was doing, but the vines are growing about 10-12 inches per day. By the end of the week, new parts of the vine are already solidly rooted in soil past the bury point. Thanks for the tips! – Brian Webster Jul 01 '11 at 13:54