Ray wrote:
My friend has a potted plant -- she doesn't know the name but says it's more
like a shrub than a plant -- which seems to be doing poorly.

I thought it might be root-bound in a too-small container.

What are the best steps to removing the plant, pruning the roots, and
replanting it?

Also, will pruning from the top tend to keep the rootball smaller?



Since the plant is in a pot, maybe your friend could take it to a
nursery for identification.

If it's herbacious (not woody), try taking a cutting from a shoot. If
the cutting succeeds, use it to replace the "parent" plant, which can
then be discarded.

If it's woody and the pot is less than 12 inches in diameter, repot in a
larger pot. If it's woody and the pot is at least 12 inches, remove the
plant from the pot. Use a sharp paring knife to shave about 1/2 to 1
inch of soil and roots all the way around and at the bottom. Place back
into the pot with fresh potting mix to replace what was removed. For
potting mix, see my
http://www.rossde.com/garden/garden_potting_mix.html. Trim the top to
reduce the demand on the taumatized roots.

In any case, trimming the top will NOT reduce the growth of roots. It
will reduce the demand on constrained roots to supply moisture and
nutrients to the foliage. Eventually, however, the plant will need to
be root-pruned, repotted in a larger pot, or replaced.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

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