Shrubs half dead
OK, got another couple of questions for you.
About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of my borders. I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has dead bits on. I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first... http://tinyurl.com/l2syret The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse and also has dead bits on it. http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the summer. Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve their look? Thanks in advance! -- Best Wishes Simon Taylor |
Shrubs half dead
On Thu, 2 Oct 2014 20:50:52 +0100, "Simon T"
wrote: OK, got another couple of questions for you. About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of my borders. I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has dead bits on. I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first... http://tinyurl.com/l2syret The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse and also has dead bits on it. http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the summer. Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve their look? Thanks in advance! Ji Simon You don't say where you live but we have had a very dry summer and I think they could just be in need of a drink. Rain is forecast but if they were mine I'd give then a jolly good soak. I'll leave it to those with better eyesight than mine to give you names. Nice Autumn colours and they don't look too bad. Pam near Bristol |
Shrubs half dead
In article ,
Pam Moore wrote: On Thu, 2 Oct 2014 20:50:52 +0100, "Simon T" wrote: OK, got another couple of questions for you. About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of my borders. I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has dead bits on. I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first... http://tinyurl.com/l2syret The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse and also has dead bits on it. http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the summer. Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve their look? You don't say where you live but we have had a very dry summer and I think they could just be in need of a drink. Rain is forecast but if they were mine I'd give then a jolly good soak. I'll leave it to those with better eyesight than mine to give you names. Nice Autumn colours and they don't look too bad. The first looks like a dwarf maple, and they are notoriously sensitive to conditions (especially drought). Bluntly, it won't ever thrive where it is. But the conditions look pretty bad for anything except the toughest plants. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
Shrubs half dead
On 02/10/2014 21:07, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article , Pam Moore wrote: On Thu, 2 Oct 2014 20:50:52 +0100, "Simon T" wrote: OK, got another couple of questions for you. About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of my borders. I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has dead bits on. I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first... http://tinyurl.com/l2syret The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse and also has dead bits on it. http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the summer. Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve their look? You don't say where you live but we have had a very dry summer and I think they could just be in need of a drink. Rain is forecast but if they were mine I'd give then a jolly good soak. I'll leave it to those with better eyesight than mine to give you names. Nice Autumn colours and they don't look too bad. The first looks like a dwarf maple, and they are notoriously sensitive to conditions (especially drought). Bluntly, it won't ever thrive where it is. But the conditions look pretty bad for anything except the toughest plants. Regards, Nick Maclaren. I'd dig up the first one, give it a good prune to get rid of all the dead wood, mix in a couple of buckets of multipurpose compost into the soil and a handful or 2 of slow release fertilizer, possibly also add water retaining polymer crystals as well, then replant the bush, giving it a good soak, Next year water it well. That doesn't mean a little and often, but a really good soak when needed with liquid feed added. The second one, prune out all the dead wood and next spring give it a good feed and then water well with added liquid feed. David @ the side of Swansea Bay that is in need of rain |
Shrubs half dead
On 02/10/2014 20:50, Simon T wrote:
OK, got another couple of questions for you. About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of my borders. I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has dead bits on. I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first... http://tinyurl.com/l2syret The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse and also has dead bits on it. http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the summer. Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve their look? Thanks in advance! A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. |
Shrubs half dead
On 2014-10-03 09:40:36 +0000, stuart noble said:
On 02/10/2014 20:50, Simon T wrote: OK, got another couple of questions for you. About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of my borders. I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has dead bits on. I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first... http://tinyurl.com/l2syret The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse and also has dead bits on it. http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the summer. Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve their look? Thanks in advance! A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it is then a case of caveat emptor all too often. There is always the danger that if the plants die within a month or two, the stall holder will no longer be at the market, either because he or she is a seasonal seller only, took a stall for just a week or two to sell off homegrown plants or excess stock, or because they no longer have stock so there is no stall and therefore no comeback. The answer to ALL plant buying is to use a trustworthy source, whichever it is, listen to friends' recommendations and ask for guidance on what will be best suited to your garden. But the best plant seller in the world cannot be held to account for customers who don't water their plants in one of the driest summers and autumns for a very long time. It's possible the soil there is starved and poor but that is difficult to judge as it's covered in gravel. The OP could get a soil testing kit and see what kind of soil he has, clear off the gravel and dig in some organic matter now before replacing the gravel. He needs to know which way that bed is facing, too, so that he knows how much sun or shade falls there. In this instance, cut off the dead bits and give the plant a good, long drink. Repeat every couple of days re watering if we don't get rain and even then, check that the fence isn't preventing rain getting to the shrubs if wind is driving the rain over the top of the fence. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon www.helpforheroes.org.uk |
Shrubs half dead
A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it is then a case of caveat emptor all too often. I'm sure the family run centres are as good as they ever were :-) Too many round here appear to be part of large groups. Shrubs that don't sell hang around till the following year and the price increased because they're that bit bigger. |
Shrubs half dead
On 2014-10-03 15:54:00 +0000, stuart noble said:
A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it is then a case of caveat emptor all too often. I'm sure the family run centres are as good as they ever were :-) Too many round here appear to be part of large groups. Shrubs that don't sell hang around till the following year and the price increased because they're that bit bigger. Our experience with a gc near us is that they chuck things out, especially once they stop flowering. Only the very largest and most expensive things are kept over. They never, ever re-pot or pot on, which is a tragic waste of money and is of course a hidden cost passed on to the buyer! Nurseries, by contrast, do pot on and a higher price reflects that in terms of time, pot, compost, general nurturing. I do wonder if the OP, being rather new to gardening, checked the root system of his shrubs, and dug a big enough hole to let the roots spread easily into their new home. It is just possible that, if he waits for the plant to go dormant and then digs it up very very carefully, he'll find the roots still need a bit of teasing out. As you say, if they were pot-bound they won't get off to a good start. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
Shrubs half dead
On 04/10/2014 10:01, sacha wrote:
On 2014-10-03 15:54:00 +0000, stuart noble said: A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it is then a case of caveat emptor all too often. I'm sure the family run centres are as good as they ever were :-) Too many round here appear to be part of large groups. Shrubs that don't sell hang around till the following year and the price increased because they're that bit bigger. Our experience with a gc near us is that they chuck things out, especially once they stop flowering. Only the very largest and most expensive things are kept over. They never, ever re-pot or pot on, which is a tragic waste of money and is of course a hidden cost passed on to the buyer! Nurseries, by contrast, do pot on and a higher price reflects that in terms of time, pot, compost, general nurturing. I do wonder if the OP, being rather new to gardening, checked the root system of his shrubs, and dug a big enough hole to let the roots spread easily into their new home. It is just possible that, if he waits for the plant to go dormant and then digs it up very very carefully, he'll find the roots still need a bit of teasing out. As you say, if they were pot-bound they won't get off to a good start. Teasing the roots isn't always easy IME. I've had shrubs where cutting slits in the root ball was the only option. My local GC has just emptied all unsold seed packets into a dustbin and marked them down to 50p. Now that they're all jumbled up, they won't sell any. I know because they do it every year! |
Shrubs half dead
"stuart noble" wrote
sacha wrote: stuart noble said: A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it is then a case of caveat emptor all too often. I'm sure the family run centres are as good as they ever were :-) Too many round here appear to be part of large groups. Shrubs that don't sell hang around till the following year and the price increased because they're that bit bigger. Our experience with a gc near us is that they chuck things out, especially once they stop flowering. Only the very largest and most expensive things are kept over. They never, ever re-pot or pot on, which is a tragic waste of money and is of course a hidden cost passed on to the buyer! Nurseries, by contrast, do pot on and a higher price reflects that in terms of time, pot, compost, general nurturing. I do wonder if the OP, being rather new to gardening, checked the root system of his shrubs, and dug a big enough hole to let the roots spread easily into their new home. It is just possible that, if he waits for the plant to go dormant and then digs it up very very carefully, he'll find the roots still need a bit of teasing out. As you say, if they were pot-bound they won't get off to a good start. Teasing the roots isn't always easy IME. I've had shrubs where cutting slits in the root ball was the only option. My local GC has just emptied all unsold seed packets into a dustbin and marked them down to 50p. Now that they're all jumbled up, they won't sell any. I know because they do it every year! Yes Wyvales do that presumably to save space for their Christmas display. I have occasionally saved a lot on seeds I want and did this year, but they hadn't jumbled them up when I looked. -- Regards. Bob Hobden. Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK |
Shrubs half dead
On 04/10/2014 10:54, Bob Hobden wrote:
"stuart noble" wrote sacha wrote: stuart noble said: A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it is then a case of caveat emptor all too often. I'm sure the family run centres are as good as they ever were :-) Too many round here appear to be part of large groups. Shrubs that don't sell hang around till the following year and the price increased because they're that bit bigger. Our experience with a gc near us is that they chuck things out, especially once they stop flowering. Only the very largest and most expensive things are kept over. They never, ever re-pot or pot on, which is a tragic waste of money and is of course a hidden cost passed on to the buyer! Nurseries, by contrast, do pot on and a higher price reflects that in terms of time, pot, compost, general nurturing. I do wonder if the OP, being rather new to gardening, checked the root system of his shrubs, and dug a big enough hole to let the roots spread easily into their new home. It is just possible that, if he waits for the plant to go dormant and then digs it up very very carefully, he'll find the roots still need a bit of teasing out. As you say, if they were pot-bound they won't get off to a good start. Teasing the roots isn't always easy IME. I've had shrubs where cutting slits in the root ball was the only option. My local GC has just emptied all unsold seed packets into a dustbin and marked them down to 50p. Now that they're all jumbled up, they won't sell any. I know because they do it every year! Yes Wyvales do that presumably to save space for their Christmas display. I have occasionally saved a lot on seeds I want and did this year, but they hadn't jumbled them up when I looked. Ah yes, Wyevales who became part of GC Group but are now apparently taking them over! Crazy place. |
Shrubs half dead
stuart noble wrote:
A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I always soak new shrubs overnight, but as a complete amateur I usually worry that if I tease out the roots this is likely to do more harm than good. Any advice on the best way to do this? -- Timothy Murphy e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland |
Shrubs half dead
On 02/10/2014 20:50, Simon T wrote:
OK, got another couple of questions for you. About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of my borders. I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has dead bits on. I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first... http://tinyurl.com/l2syret The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse and also has dead bits on it. http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the summer. Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve their look? Thanks in advance! Hi Simon, To start with, both shrubs are planted too close to the fence and may very well be in a 'rain shadow' and so are almost perpetually droughted, this year especially. I'm guessing that the first shrub is an acer. Acers are plants of light woodland and do not appreciate being exposed to full sun (or wind) all year round, especially whilst suffering drought. Their roots are fairly shallow, so will be baked in their current situation. In woodland, or at least in a shadier postion, the root run would be cooler and mulched with nature's own leafmould. You cannot create this habitat against your fence, so I suggest you wait until the shrub is dormant and lift it. If you can't offer it woodland, consider potting it up and keeping it in a shady place ... but then it will be even more dependent on you for water. Whether you leave it in the ground or pot it up, you must *must* water it. The second shrub is probably a Spiraea, but it's not easy to see. It can cope with more sunshine, but still needs to be kept well watered, especially in the kind of scorching summer we've just had. It looks as if it may be planted next to a drain cover (or perhaps a large slab of slate) on the left hand side, and clearly next to wheelie bins on the right. Both these will stop the shrub receiving natural rain fall. With the fence behind also limiting rainfall, this shrub is hopelessly dependent on you for year round watering. Whatever else you do, you need to give these shrubs a good, solid drenching. Even if it rains, don't rely on that reaching the roots. Certainly cut out all the dead wood to tidy the plants up *and* to stop them dying back further, hopefully. You really need to make a decision about the acer, because it is suffering. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
Shrubs half dead
On 04/10/2014 13:16, Timothy Murphy wrote:
stuart noble wrote: A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I always soak new shrubs overnight, but as a complete amateur I usually worry that if I tease out the roots this is likely to do more harm than good. Any advice on the best way to do this? There isn't one answer that suits all shrubs or trees. Most seem to benefit from having their roots teased out, but there are exceptions. When you get your new plant home, do some research (unless you've already asked at the gc/nursery): if your plant is one of those which resents root disturbance, then soak it as usual, but plant it with as little disturbance as possible. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
Shrubs half dead
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Shrubs half dead
On 2014-10-04 09:24:34 +0000, stuart noble said:
On 04/10/2014 10:01, sacha wrote: On 2014-10-03 15:54:00 +0000, stuart noble said: A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high. Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it is then a case of caveat emptor all too often. I'm sure the family run centres are as good as they ever were :-) Too many round here appear to be part of large groups. Shrubs that don't sell hang around till the following year and the price increased because they're that bit bigger. Our experience with a gc near us is that they chuck things out, especially once they stop flowering. Only the very largest and most expensive things are kept over. They never, ever re-pot or pot on, which is a tragic waste of money and is of course a hidden cost passed on to the buyer! Nurseries, by contrast, do pot on and a higher price reflects that in terms of time, pot, compost, general nurturing. I do wonder if the OP, being rather new to gardening, checked the root system of his shrubs, and dug a big enough hole to let the roots spread easily into their new home. It is just possible that, if he waits for the plant to go dormant and then digs it up very very carefully, he'll find the roots still need a bit of teasing out. As you say, if they were pot-bound they won't get off to a good start. Teasing the roots isn't always easy IME. I've had shrubs where cutting slits in the root ball was the only option. My local GC has just emptied all unsold seed packets into a dustbin and marked them down to 50p. Now that they're all jumbled up, they won't sell any. I know because they do it every year! Ray is opposed to teasing out roots in general, as he thinks people often do more harm than good. But sometimes, if you get something really compacted, it's necessary but only in the gentlest way and with no forcing. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
Shrubs half dead
Tease them out gently under/with a gentle trickle/flow of water of the right
temperature, but don't soak them Mike .................................................. advert will follow Ray is opposed to teasing out roots in general, as he thinks people often do more harm than good. But sometimes, if you get something really compacted, it's necessary but only in the gentlest way and with no forcing. -- Sacha |
Shrubs half dead
Teasing the roots isn't always easy IME. I've had shrubs where cutting
slits in the root ball was the only option. My local GC has just emptied all unsold seed packets into a dustbin and marked them down to 50p. Now that they're all jumbled up, they won't sell any. I know because they do it every year! Ray is opposed to teasing out roots in general, as he thinks people often do more harm than good. But sometimes, if you get something really compacted, it's necessary but only in the gentlest way and with no forcing. I never tease out the roots, I use a sharp knife and slice down the length of the root ball on 3 sides. The new roots then grow away from the old clump. David @ a rain free side of Swansea Bay |
Shrubs half dead
On 05/10/2014 12:40, David wrote:
Teasing the roots isn't always easy IME. I've had shrubs where cutting slits in the root ball was the only option. My local GC has just emptied all unsold seed packets into a dustbin and marked them down to 50p. Now that they're all jumbled up, they won't sell any. I know because they do it every year! Ray is opposed to teasing out roots in general, as he thinks people often do more harm than good. But sometimes, if you get something really compacted, it's necessary but only in the gentlest way and with no forcing. I never tease out the roots, I use a sharp knife and slice down the length of the root ball on 3 sides. The new roots then grow away from the old clump. David @ a rain free side of Swansea Bay I've rarely had the courage to do that, but I did drill out the centre of a camellia root ball which was absolutely rock solid. Much to my surprise it gave it a new lease of life, but I'm still loath to do anything much to a newly purchased plant |
Shrubs half dead
"Spider" wrote in message ...
I'm guessing that the first shrub is an acer. Acers are plants of light woodland and do not appreciate being exposed to full sun (or wind) all year round, especially whilst suffering drought. First of all, thankyou everyone for the replies. The name "Acer" does ring a bell, so you're probably right. My back garden faces West and the right hand side of the garden (northerly) is shady in the morning, but gets full sun for most of the afternoon. As I'm going to have to dig it up anyway, what I think I'll do is move it to the other side of the garden (southerly), which is shady for most of the day (which is the same side as my rather bad looking rose, which I also posted about the other day). But I'll wait till it goes dormant first (as winter is round the corner, that shouldn't be too long). The second shrub is probably a Spiraea, but it's not easy to see. It can cope with more sunshine, but still needs to be kept well watered. It looks as if it may be planted next to a drain cover (or perhaps a large slab of slate) on the left hand side, and clearly next to wheelie bins on the right. Both these will stop the shrub receiving natural rain fall. The name Spirea doesn't ring a bell. But to answer your question, that's a piece of slate just to the left. I'll probably move this bush to the shadier side of the garden too while I'm at it. I was looking for some other plants to put down the left, so that will solve that problem then! Whatever else you do, you need to give these shrubs a good, solid drenching. Even if it rains, don't rely on that reaching the roots. Certainly cut out all the dead wood to tidy the plants up *and* to stop them dying back further, hopefully. Well it chucked it down with rain yesterday and it looks like rain again tomorrow, BUT if it doesn't, I'll get the hose out! Thanks again to everyone for the replies. As I said in my earlier post about my rose, I have a complete "brown thumb" when it comes to gardening and try to do as little of it as possible. But I shall try and get my hands a little bit more dirty out back in the future... -- Best Wishes Simon Taylor |
Shrubs half dead
On 2014-10-05 16:38:57 +0000, stuart noble said:
On 05/10/2014 12:40, David wrote: Teasing the roots isn't always easy IME. I've had shrubs where cutting slits in the root ball was the only option. My local GC has just emptied all unsold seed packets into a dustbin and marked them down to 50p. Now that they're all jumbled up, they won't sell any. I know because they do it every year! Ray is opposed to teasing out roots in general, as he thinks people often do more harm than good. But sometimes, if you get something really compacted, it's necessary but only in the gentlest way and with no forcing. I never tease out the roots, I use a sharp knife and slice down the length of the root ball on 3 sides. The new roots then grow away from the old clump. David @ a rain free side of Swansea Bay I've rarely had the courage to do that, but I did drill out the centre of a camellia root ball which was absolutely rock solid. Much to my surprise it gave it a new lease of life, but I'm still loath to do anything much to a newly purchased plant I've never had the courage to do that, either though sometimes we take a small saw to really tough root balls on e.g. mature Cannas or Hedychiums when splitting them. It never does them harm. -- Sacha www.hillhousenursery.com South Devon |
Shrubs half dead
On Tue, 07 Oct 2014 10:07:44 +0100, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 7 Oct 2014 09:19:55 +0100, sacha wrote: I've never had the courage to do that, either though sometimes we take a small saw to really tough root balls on e.g. mature Cannas or Hedychiums when splitting them. It never does them harm. I divide my hedychiums (H. gardnerianum) with a hand axe! As you say, never does them harm and they come again with lots of vigour. Heh, I divided mine for the first time this past winter. I had waited too long as they really put on a lot of root mass. Ensued much hacking with a fully extended cutter blade... But maybe hedychiums are a special case, like crynoids. ;) As for teasing roots, the thing you have to worry about is encircling roots strangling the plant as it grows on in the ground. When this happens you end up having to cut major roots in the ground, which can set it back or even kill it. So for really pot bound plants I do like David and make 4 cuts. If the pot is just "full" or a little more, I tease out the roots to avoid encircling, and sometimes remove the very longs ones. -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
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