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Hi guys,

This week I bought an echeveria monroe and was rinsing the roots to repot in better soil when I found that the shop has put something over the roots. Its like a little sheath with holes in it and it looks like its got to be strangling root growth.

It this somehow supposed to be there? Will it degrade (looks unlikely).

Does anyone know what this is and how I can remove it given that the roots are growing through it? Help greatly appreciated!!

This is a plug that nurseries use for plant propagation, it’s more efficient way in mass plant production.
You can tear some of it out trying not to damage roots.

Thanks! That makes sense, even if I think its a terrible idea. The roots are growing through it, so I'm intending to make ~4 cuts so that I can spread it out rather than remove it entirely.

Man what a lousy grower! Seriously who does this?

I wouldn't worry too much about losing some of the roots. Echeverias can lose lots of roots and still be fine. Especially the hybrids

Yeah it was unreal. I took it out the pot, set about removing the old soil and found... this.

Anyway, I ended up getting most of it out. I did leave a few sections in because of the number of roots it had through it, but I'm not so bothered by little pieces since they won't be as restrictive.

It's just like the landscapers who stick balled and burlapped plants in the ground without removing the burlap. It saves them time, increasing their profits, while potentially creating problems for the customer sometime in the future. Most of their customers never find out.