Repotting

magic roundabou

Does anyone have a good way to get a plant out of a pot that it has outgrown - without breaking the pot if possible !! - i know if i let the soil dry out it will contract a bit but i dont think that will be enought
any help will be great
thanks

Sonnenblumen

magic roundabou wrote: »

Does anyone have a good way to get a plant out of a pot that it has outgrown - without breaking the pot if possible !! - i know if i let the soil dry out it will contract a bit but i dont think that will be enought
any help will be great
thanks

If the pot has a narrow neck it is going to be very difficult and also if it is a large one.

But a clever way for smaller containers is to leave soaking (1 hr +) in a larger tank to soak the rootball through and through. Remove from water and it should be possible to remove compost and soil from rootball by simply inverting and gently tease plant from pot.

In case where the plant is much larger, you can use a hose or if necessary a power hose to physical remove soil from rootball before attempting to remove plant form pot.

It may not be easy but it can be done.

Good Luck.

The Sweeper

Everything Sonnenblumen says, and then if you can lift the pot try holding the pot between your knees, on its side, and using both hands to coax the plant out. (Yep, that's right, I look like a real catch when I'm repotting trees.)

It's easier to remove an overgrown plant from a pot when the soil is wet than when it's dry. The roots are more flexible when wet, so if it's grown through the holes at the base of the pot and the roots have intermingled, they'll tease apart more gently if they've been soaked.

Whether you're planting out or potting up, have the new home ready for the plant before you take it out of its existing pot. IMO plants take better in a new place if you've watered in the soil they're going into - so if planting out, dig a hole twice the size of the roots, and line with organic material (compost) - then water in very well even before you put the plant in - then backfill, firm down and water in again. If potting up, line the bottom of the new pot with compost, and wet it down - then transplant, backfill, firm down and water in well.

I like to mulch my pot plants to conserve water - not a problem in Ireland, I know, but one of the benefits of mulching is that it helps prevent infestations of insects that like the breeding environment of the moist compost. It also stops pets getting into your pots. Outdoor pots I mulch with straw, but anything that's going in a presentation pot for the deck or indoors, I'll use a bag of those shiny glass pebbles that odds-and-ends shops sell. Just lay them on top of the compost, don't let them touch the stem of the plant. They look pretty, too.

magic roundabou

That worked , thanks for your help , its always amazing to see the root system when you take it out of the pot !! no wonder i could not keep the plant watered

I learned the hard lesson of buying narrow width pots - now all my ones are large at the top - makes things a lot easier

thanks again