LOL! How about some *positive* motivation here? I.E., Preserve the spike!

There was a story about a bb coach who kept telling one of his pitchers
which pitch *not* to throw to a particular batter. You guessed it - that's
the pitch he threw. Afterward, the pitcher said all that kept going through
his mind was that forbidden pitch. Wish I could remember the source of that.
It's a true story.

Diana

wrote in message
oups.com...
go up one pot size if you think you need to, but keep the old pot (or
one of a similar size) handy in case you discover your root ball
really isn't as large as you think it is. you don't want to over pot.

don't break the spike.

yes, clean off as much of the old medium as you can; if a root is
hanging onto a piece of bark with a death grip, it's ok to let it keep
it.

don't break the spike.

pull or trim off any wet mushy roots; anything that feels firm,
regardless of color, is still good and you should keep it.

don't break the spike.

can you tell i've broken short spikes before? :-)

see also:

http://firstrays.com/potting.htm

--j_a