I recently bought a sprawling schefflera plant from a garage sale for a buck. It's clean-no bugs that I can see,but what I thought was a woven mat beneath the pot and it's dish is actually @ 3ft. of coiled up root! It's really dry too! I want to repot but don't want to send it into shock. Should I cut the root off and repot- or just plunk the whole thing into new pot? There are 2 main stocks each@2ft long and wavy. Leaves look healthy. Thanks, Sue
Hey, How much do you like the pot? If it’s not a particularly nice pot then water the plant and wait two days. Then brake or cut the pot off. I wouldn’t just put the pot into another, it won’t help much at all. If you want to keep the pot then your only option is to cut the roots. They are tough plants and I think it will survive. It just might take a while for it to liven up again. If it where me I would cut the roots off and repot it. Hey, it was only a buck so pot alone is probably worth that. Michael
Take it out of the pot, cut back 1/3 of the roots and untangle them a bit then plop it into a new pot. Water well FIRST before un potting to make the roots more pliable and easier to work with. Once in it's new pot water well again and you're all set! Tom