HealingMindN wrote:
I believe I can do that with the crepe myrtles because they were in one
gallon pots. The japanese elm and the saphire dragon were in 5 gallon
pots. How would I dig up the bigger ones w/o shocking the roots?
Thanks in Advance!

you will shock the roots, no way around it, and lose maybe a season of
growth. But later the plants will grow properly. don't be nice when you
prune, what can be spread, you spread, what cannot be spread, you cut.
There will be more cutting than you expect, perhaps 30-50% of root
mass. Since they will get a shock regardless, you try to solve the
problem once and for all. You may choose to prune the aerial parts to
make the plant more resistant to winter and drought, or you can leave
it as is and coddle it a bit with winter mulch and some irrigation next
year until the plants recover in full.


simy1 wrote:

they are probably rootbound. That means the roots are going round and
round from years in the pots and prevent proper growth. Cu dig them
up and give them a good root pruning so that they have a chance to
spread properly in the future. do it in the fall before they go dormant.