I dragged my rubber tree in its 14 inch pot downstairs today out of my office to take it to the basement to change dirt and give it a good watering. I realized once it was out of the pot there was NO LOOSE SOIL and it was dry!
it being root bound explains the yellow leaves occasionally.
I recieved this plant in 07 after my aunt passed.
I was wondering if trimming the roots is possible to make the root ball smaller so I don't have to buy a gigantic pot?? so I can just use the same pot...
the plant itself is probably 3-4 feet high. (from dirt to tip)
thanks so much for your help!
its only 2 foot tall... I just thought if I rinsed the dirt off the roots really well trimmed it up some and popped it back in the same ppt with new dirt it would be fine... I've heard of wing able to do this with other plants and was wondering if I could do it here...
Thanks so much for your help
I wonder where the heck I'm going to find a 20+ inch pot in wisconsin this time of year!
Thanks so much for your help
I wonder where the heck I'm going to find a 20+ inch pot in wisconsin this time of year!
It's true that you can do it with some plants, and you could do it with your rubber tree. The problem is that you have to prune the top back to make up for the smaller root system. Rubber trees tend to look odd when they've had their tops pruned, so I agree with MG to just put the plant in a larger container. 
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purpleinopp
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When repotting almost any plant, the roots should be trimmed. Remove any that are circling, mushy, tangled, way too big. Ficus respond especially well to this. There is no need to reduce the canopy. The plant may decide to shed some leaves in adjustment to the repotting, but they will likely be the oldest leaves, not the growth tips.
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purpleinopp
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Oh, I didn't mean to make you feel bad or that you had made a mistake, and didn't realize you were saying you'd already repotted, just that you had gotten the materials to do so. You don't waste any time, which I admire.
Potting-up is a decent temporary alternative to a full out of season repot. That will give roots a little more room to grow, which can definitely help your plant maintain its' vigor through winter. It might be best (for the plant to be able to recover most quickly) to wait until late spring or into summer before doing that kind of work anyway. Excuse my oversight in not noticing (amidst all of the tiny writing here that ignores my text size settings) that you're in WI (so probably don't have a ton of sunshine this time of year.)
Potting-up is a decent temporary alternative to a full out of season repot. That will give roots a little more room to grow, which can definitely help your plant maintain its' vigor through winter. It might be best (for the plant to be able to recover most quickly) to wait until late spring or into summer before doing that kind of work anyway. Excuse my oversight in not noticing (amidst all of the tiny writing here that ignores my text size settings) that you're in WI (so probably don't have a ton of sunshine this time of year.)
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purpleinopp
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- Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 4:28 am
- Location: Opp, AL zone 8B