Hello all.
I have 7 brugs that I keep in containers and winter in the basement. We (mostly dh) have just brought them up into the great outdoors and I'm hoping to repot them. I can't pot up as the size now is the limit we can carry up and down stairs.
Can you please give me specific directions on root pruning them so that I can freshen the potting soil? I'm guessing that you would just take the root ball, cut it down by 1/2 (1/3rd?) and repot.
Are there any particular roots I'd want to cut off? THe giant ones?
Thanks in advance!
Lora B.
Can you tell me how to root prune?
I think it is 1/3 .. no more... and you also remove 1/3 of the green top growth but if they are dormant then I don't think you need to worry about the top 1/3. I have not had to root prund any brugs yet but have a hibiscus I am about to do for the second time... I do it every 2 years.
How much you prune depends on the size of the rootball. Two inches taken off all the way around an 18"+ rootball is sufficient, but way too much for a 12" rootball. Use a sharp knife or saw to cut off old roots and soil all the way around and from the bottom. After you have cut this off, use your fingers or something with prongs to loosen the roots and soil around the remaining rootball. This helps the remaing roots grow into the new soil faster.
If your plants are just coming out of dormancy, you don't really have to do any top pruning. You can choose to wait until the Brugs are established before fertilizing with full strength fertilizer or feed them a weak solution of fertilizer until they get settled in.
Thanks for the tips! I got some fresh potting soil today and will start tomorrow.
Not looking forward to it though. :-) Those babies are heavy!
Lora B.