Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Re-Potting Plants

Q. I bought a 6-inch pot full of plants: an ugly red and green prayer plant, an ugly red and green spiky plant, a near-dead pothos, and a small something! The only plant I want to keep is the small one. But, as they are all in the same pot and have intertwined roots, what would be the best way to get out that one 'keeper' so I can put it in a pot of its own?

A. Take the plants out of the pot. Lay them on a newspaper, several pages thick. Let them sit there for several days. Allow the soil to dry and everyday go to it and gently shake it a bit to loosen the soil. Discard. When the soil gets so dry that it falls off the plants' roots, then you can carefully hold the one plant you want and pull on one plant at a time to separate it from your good one. Do not wait for the plants to actually reach the wilting state...that is too severe and stressful for the one good plant you wish to save.

Tug a little, shake the soil and roots, tug some more. By holding the good one, you are protecting it and who cares if some roots or stems break on the others. Once one is off, the next one will be even easier. Finally you will be down to the one you want and if you were careful and the soil was dry enough, the root system remaining should be pretty OK!

Pot it up immediately in new, fresh potting mix, water well and allow to sit in very low light for several days to get over the little shock. it will perk up quickly. Do not feed for at least one month.