hi everyone,
I'm a first time poster here and pretty basic at gardening.
the pictured pot came with this house. I haven't tackled them yet as the pot is so heavy I can't move them and so overgrown I haven't yet been able to do anything.
ideally I'd like to take a whole lot of the plants out, move the pots to better locations, and replant most of the plants in different pots.
I've tried yanking out the plants and using a shovel to try to pull them out but no luck.
does anyone have any tips for managing such entangled pots?
by Villainous-Crab
5 Comments
Check the holes on the bottom. Trim off roots poking through, slide a shovel down the sides and get some one to hold the base while you pull on the plant, very hardy so you won’t do any damage.
Lay the pot down on its side. You won’t be working against gravity and it usually allows the root ball to deform slightly and come out easier.
You don’t need to be gentle with something this root bound.
I’ve split snake plants like this one a few times. Easiest way I’ve found is to just drag the pot out to an open area and flip it over. They are incredibly hardy plants so don’t stress if they get a little bit of damage.
Can’t remember the name of this plant (Snake?) but it overcrowds everything in it’s path. Rip it out and plant something else.
Most of this is S*ansevieria laurentii,* variegated snake plant. They are so hardy that you can prop them from cut up bits of leaf. Incredibly hardy. You can use whatever force you need to get them out of the pot. Yank em out, split them up -the user down thread suggesting you can chop em with an axe is correct, they will not care – and repot in a new pot with good drainage and light, well draining soil. I just chuck a few handfuls of orchid mix and some perlite into a pot of standard potting mix for these dudes, they aren’t fussy. Terracotta or something else porous for preference, it’ll make watering easier.
You have a pair of sad Mostera leaves showing in that last pic. For that one, I would cut it off at the stem below the air roots – those thick wormy looking roots close to the pot – and get it in some water to prop. It’ll grow some new roots and once they’re like 5 to 10cm long you can pot it in a chunky soil mix and away you go.
The vining thing I can’t get a good look at in this photo, but I would put a modest amount of money on it being a weed of some type and not something you’d want to preserve.