This is over 20 years old. I bought it as a 3” pot from Franks Nursery and kept it at the office. Someone obviously took good care of it! So, it’s at my home now. Is there my way to repot this without breaking the pot? If I put my finger down the side, I can’t even touch the top of the dirt and the roots on the top have wound around and feel like tree trunks. It’s a Crown of Thorns.
by Gold-Habit-4880
13 Comments
The plant is busting out of its pot so hard the drainage holes look like an escape tunnel. I swear if I lift it up, I’m gonna find a tiny shovel and a mugshot
Def gonna take patience but not impossible. First I’d try running something along the inside of the pot as far down as you can to try to separate the plant from the pot. If you have a knife that long, a ruler even might work.
Soak the entire thing in water for a few hours maybe?
Soak the the pot for a few hours. That should release the roots from the sides of the pot and loosen the soil enough to move it. Put the pot in a container of water enough to cover the top of the soil.
Plant looks healthy, likely no issue cutting it out.
Clean, sharp blade. Probably something with a pointed tip. When I do things that might stress the plant like root pruning, I’ll typically try to catch it when it’s perky, uptake is good, and almost a dry pot.
When you replant, buy extra perlite and mix in an additional 30%. Pre moisten the medium and mix it well.
Say 5 gallons of dry soil, use about 0.5 gallon of water for 10% moisture content.
Wow is that pretty 😍
You can also take a little foldable saw for tree branches and cut a circle around the roots just inside the narrowest part of the pot. The plant will be fine
Do you happen to have falconer’s gloves? jk
What kind of plant is this?
Crown of Thorns plant Beautiful !
I would start by taking one of the branches, and cutting it and seeing if you can propagate it that way. The internet says you can but the internet lies. If that works. I would chop all of them as close to the top of the dirt as possible, put them in a new home and then carefully cut out chunks of the roots until you can get them out.
Ouch.
Did you say FRANK’S NURSERY AND CRAFTS?! That was my first job as a teenager! God I miss that place.