Anyone know best way to remove 3 figs in this pot with least damage, for planting in ground tomorrow? About 8 to 10 gal capacity pot and very heavy even though it’s just Pro Mix. Many thanks. 3 primo varieties, want to take extra care. Don’t want to break really nice decorative pot (design not visible), as I also have the mate.
You’ve got two choices either one will work.
First choice would be to wash off the soil and attempt to separate the roots. If the plants are rootbound with many circling roots, you’d do well to first cut off the circling outside roots like you’d do when up potting.
The second method would be to just cut the rootball into thirds with one plant in each third and plant those in ground. The risk here is that you might sever the stem of one or more of the plants with few roots attached.
I can’t see the plants and stem very well so not that sure how the second method might work. The second method works well to separate two rooted cuttings in a 4x4x9 inch pot if the two cuttings started out straight. Just cut the rootball in half top to bottom with hand pruners. Cut between the two stems. I’ve done may plants this way with few losses if the plants are well rooted.
This is for figs and many other plants. I wouldn’t attempt it with persimmons.
You are going to cut roots, and consequently the above ground growth will need to be cut back proportionately.
My approach is to remove the combined rootball from the pot and soak it overnight. A trash barrel is useful for this size project.
Afterwards, I’m going to dump it out somewhere convenient. Then, using a hose with a single stream nozzle, I’ll spend about 15 minutes attempting to spray out the dirt. This will involve turning over the rootball several times, banging it up and down on the ground (or driveway etc.), and especially banging it sideways while I spray.
At some point additional effort will yield little results. But I’ll have a good idea of where the main roots of each plant are going. I then cut the trees apart, preserving what is visible of the upper sections of the main root(s) of each. My tools for this size plant are loppers and shears.
These then need to be immediately repotted as if they are bareroot trees. I will use a soil media without significant fertilizer amendments (e.g., no added “organic” Calcium, Iron, etc.) Afterwards I’ll water down the pots, using a dosage of 1 teaspoon of water-soluble 20-10-20 + 1 Tablespoon of seaweed extract per 5 gallons.
I’m not a fig expert by any means, but I have separated multiple figs in a single pot like this before.
I just pulled the rootball out of the pot and hacked it apart with a hatchet. They all grew great afterwards. Figs honestly amaze me with how resilient they are to root damage. Every other year I root prune them the same way, hack off the outer 2/3 of the root ball with a hatchet.
Thanks all! My main problem is extracting the root mass from the pot, as the pot has a lip that curves in a bit. Hammer and chisel on pot will preserve roots, may be best option. Hative d’ Argenteuil, Green Michurinska, Unk Prosciutto are more valuable to me than the pot, I just decided.
No need to worry that much about preserving roots.
I’ve had bare root trees shipped to me with roots absolutely hacked off - and they not only survived but thrived. Young trees are extremely resilient and can withstand rather extreme root pruning during the dormant season.
I will locate the photo of a persimmon tree that was shipped to me with pretty much no feeder roots, just a main root that was half lopped off. One season later, it filled a 5 gallon pot with roots and sent a root through the drainage holes into the ground and rooted there.
Figs are even more resilient than persimmons.
I use a sledgehammer and throw away the pot.
That’s what I’m thinking too. Easy, peasy.
Hammer would be the easiest.
if you wanted to preserve the pot, i would wonder if you could feed some lengths of some twine or ribbon or something from the bottom up towards the sides using something like a long knitting needle. Get the twine/ribbon fed up to the surface of the pot on 2 (or 4) sides so there is a loop(s) under the center of the root mass and then apply equal upward force from the ends of the twine to try to lift the whole mass out by the rootball?
Figs root easily. As long as you chop back a good section of the top, they will recover very quickly from even drastic root pruning. Watering a few hours to a day before root pruning is a good idea.
Since you want to keep the pot, I’d just get a serrated knife (not a good one that you cook with!) or a Hori-Hori, jab it straight into the soil about an inch from the rim, and saw/cut all the way around the edge. Use your fingers or a tool to loosen up the soil around the pot edge. Then tip the pot upside down (diagonally on a hillside or a pile or dirt/mulch is easiest for heavy ceramic pots) and shake/roll the pot a bit, while running your hands around the inside rim to encourage the soil to fall out. You might be able to remove the whole root ball at this point, but more likely just some of the excess soil. In the latter case, remove as much as you can, then tip the pot back upright, and it should be easier to start washing the soil off the roots to make some more “wiggle room” to get the plants out.
Once they’re out, you’ll probably have to cut them some more to separate them.
Have you considered moving the pot outside, laying it on its side (but not on pavement in order to protect the pot) and using the forceful single-stream setting of a hose end sprayer to try to erode all of the soil that is under the lip of the rim?
Uodate: root mass slid out of pot with only a little coaxing, pulling. Roots were impossibly tangled so we sawed the ball into thirds and planted all three. A savvy friend of mine advises do not cut back top (professional horticulturist for 40 years). I see support for this on the net (I know). Apparently the branch tips generate hormones that spur root growth, exactly what’s needed. I’m onboard, will report results.
