Root-bound
/ROOT-bownd/🧑🌾 Cultivation● Basic
Also known as: pot-bound, rootbound
A state where a container-grown plant's roots have exhausted the available soil space and begun growing in circles around the inside of the pot. Root-bound plants may show slowed growth, wilting despite adequate water, roots protruding from drainage holes, or a solid mass of roots with little visible soil. Severely root-bound plants may develop girdling roots that strangle the crown. Treatment involves potting up or gently loosening roots at planting time.
Etymology
Old English rot (root) + Old English bindan (to bind)
Example
“This plant is severely root-bound — the roots are circling the pot and need to be gently teased apart before transplanting.”