This plant that my hubby got me over a year ago is not looking to good. Well, some of them are choking out the other ones. The peace lily looks horrible! I have no clue where to start. I was going to separate them but I have not had much luck repotting houseplants in the past. I wouldn't know how to separate the roots or how big the containers should be or how much or what kind of soil to put in there! Again thanks in advance!
Pull the entire root ball out and see if you can pull the plants apart first. Grab one of the bigger plants close to the ground and pull away from other plants GENTLY. The dracaena may break so pulling on either of them may be a bad idea. You can use a small spade to cut the roots or a big sharp knife and sever the joined roots. Get some quality potting soil, not the cheapest thing at the store. The peace lily just may need more water. The syngonium should be thriving since they can become weeds with the right light and being watered on a regular basis.
I find it helps to separate this sort of mass by soaking the whole thing in a bucket. Keep the mass soaking and work them apart as much as you can, then let it soak a while longer. Be patient. As the water loosens the soil it will eventually come apart.
I see at least 4 plants in there:
The 2 Dracaenas (variegated and green) look pretty good, well worth saving.
The Spathiphyllum also looks OK, worth saving.
The Syngonium is pretty bad. I would not bother trying to save any of its roots. But you can very easily take cuttings and root them in water. Then pot up the new plants when they are showing some definite roots.
Great advice! I will definitely try that with the Syngonium. I don't ever know which plants you can root from cuttings! Thanks!
What size pot should I use for the repotted plants? I hope I can save the peace lily, it looks really bad!
Peace lilies are tough. I thought I lost two (funeral plants - grandmother and younger brother) a few years ago from neglect so I tossed the dead looking remains on the compost heap. The next spring as I was shoveling the heap to a bin I noticed some small green leaves under all the rotted debris. A little more digging and there was one of the peace lilies. A little more digging and I found the second one. If you don't like the leaves, cut them all away but I would just cut the leaf off and leave the stem (not sure if this is needed but it preserves the crown). Put the crowns with roots in a pot that can accommodate all the crowns (or some) with fresh potting mix and water well. Put under lights or next to a sunny window and check for growth every few days - it will start to grow and fill the pot in no time. Do not keep it soggy wet - let it dry out some between each watering.
Put size will depend on how much roots you can save.
The pot should not be too small. If you have to squish the roots together to fit them in, the pot is too small.
The pot should not be too large. About an inch of soil between the outer roots and the pot is pretty good. A bit more is OK. More than that and the pot is too large.
Also, a pot is too small if the plant is frequently falling over. The pot + soil needs to be heavy enough to keep the plant stable.
Some plants are top heavy and either need a heavier pot (clay or glazed) or at least something heavy in the pot such as a big rock if you choose plastic. The other option is to use a cache pot - place a lightweight pot in a heavier (decorative) pot.
Here is an example of a big rock keeping a top heavy plant standing (the plant is Begonia 'Maggie Nodal' which can get to be a giant if planted in a big pot or the ground). I took this picture more to show the leaf debris than anything else.
hcmcdole, that is a really impressive begonia! Love those giant leaves!
And it is just growing in that pot in the picture? The roots are not escaping and growing into the soil under the pot?
Does it take a lot of frequent watering when the leaves are so large and the root zone so small?
That's right - the roots are in the pot. I don't remember if any escaped through the drain hole or not but I doubt there was many since it is now indoors and looks mighty comfy. Some pots do send roots to the ground but often it is the other way around - tree roots invade the pot so I need to break the bond and rotate the pots every few weeks to keep tree roots out.
During the hot summer I often have to water every other day if we aren't getting any rain but in early August we were gone a week without any irrigation and it and its sister came through with flying colors. These are under tall trees without a lot of low branches.
Here is a bird eye view of it July 1 and some surrounding plants
Are there drain holes in the bottom of any of these pots?
All of them have drain holes, purpleinopp (what is the opp for? Certainly not Opelika?).
Once in a while a hole gets clogged from tree roots or mud and when I see water sitting on top, I immediately yank it up, find a stick (I've got plenty of sticks laying around except when you need one), and clear the drain hole(s).
Sorry, I was asking Jessiekay.
HCMC, Opp is for Opp, that's the whole word. Look about 80 miles south of Montgomery, or 80 miles north of Destin, FL, if you want to see where it is on a map.
Thanks purple. When I used to go to Pensacola on jobs, I'd get off at the Flomaton exit. I guess I was fairly close to Opp then.
