pot-bound

British  

adjective

1. (of a pot plant) having grown to fill all the available root space and therefore lacking room for continued growth

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Example Sentences

But most pot-bound plants are easy to save.

From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2021

Even if the plant appears healthy, it’s probably pot-bound, meaning the roots have grown so much within the pot that there’s barely any soil left.

From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2021

Leschenaultias.—If they have done blooming, and are pot-bound, to be repotted and placed in a shady place to make their growth.

From In-Door Gardening for Every Week in the Year Showing the Most Successful Treatment for all Plants Cultivated in the Greenhouse, Conservatory, Stove, Pit, Orchid, and Forcing-house by Keane, William

Owing to the difficulty of digging the hole, it is likely to be a tight fit for the pot-bound ball of calloused roots that is to fill it.

From The Garden, You, and I by Wright, Mabel Osgood

The roots must not be allowed to become pot-bound.

From The Culture of Vegetables and Flowers From Seeds and Roots 16th Edition by Sutton and Sons