Hi everyone, a few years ago, while I was still learning about gardening ( heck I still am) I planted mandilvilla(sp) in what I thought was a large pot and placed it next to an arbor, I have one on each side. One is growing very well, the other not so much. So here is my question. I know these babies would love to be able to stretch out their roots, and I would love to be able to help them but the are two issues here. The first issue being that they were put into pots because there is concrete from old fence posts ( when the neighbor put in a new fence he just moved over a foot and sunk new holes filled with cement so I have about four feet of cement under ground on either side, this is the reason they were in pots and not in the ground begin with. Problem number 2 is that both are wrapped tightly around this arbor that if I could remove it from the pot I wouldn't be able to untangle the vines on the arbor.
I have thought of placing cinder blocks around the pot filling it with good soil and then just make some good sizes cuts into the pot and maybe stripping away the pot that way. I will gladly accept any advice I can get.
TIA
Dayna
Help, my plant has out grown its pot...
Hi Dayna!
This is just a suggestion, not any expert (I really am no expert! ;-) ) advice, but I have had a similar problem with a bouganviliea.
I'm not sure when to prune mandevillas, but if it could wait till then I guess I'd do that. That's what I did with my bouganviliea and it worked anyway. I pruned it as I normally would, only I tried to make sure that the vines got a bit more loose around the arbour. Then I simply smashed the pot to pieces ( guess I couldn't cut a clay pot...) and got someone (dear hubby, as usual, poor man!) to lift the plant near the base of the trunk and slipped ( maybe I should say tumbled..;-)) a new pot under it. Then added compost, and so on.
It's hot work, but I'd say it works...!
Let us know the outcome of whatever you do!
Good luck!
Love
MyHiraeth
Whar Myhiraeth suggested sounds like a winning plan to me. We did lots of large plants at Powell Gardens(Kansas City's Botanical gardens where I have volunteered for about 7 years)and that is basically what we had to do. Ours usually weren't on trellises or outdoor arbors, but even in green houses some of those plants get to be the size of dwarf fruit trees and need to be root pruned every couple years or so. We just dug out as much soil as possible, cut away 1/2" - 1" of roots all the way around and at least that much off the bottom and put in new potting soil. It became a 2 person job sometimes.
Thanks I appreciate the advice. I will wait and do it just like that.
~Dayna