Roots go out, not down and yes, those roots grow wide. There is often a comparison to the root spread diameter to twice the height of the tree, but that is not hard and fast. Sometimes they will be more restricted and at other times could spread much wider - it is all in response to nutrients and moisture availability. And to any obstructions in their path. Thuja plicata, western red cedar, is native to the PNW and there are many very venerable and very large specimens in gardens all over, even in the heart of the city. As they age, they often produce a quantity of large surface roots, to the bane of many lawnmowers :-) As ken noted, roots are not a threat to a stable and secure foundation, especially in most of the PNW where soil subsidence is not an issue. They can and do lift slabs and patios or driveways, however.

Im no expert, but I have had my Jade for about 10 years and it has been doing very well as have its family which is huge now. I found it best when replanting or planting jadelings, plant the stem deep enough to hold it in place. water it once throughly and allow the plant to dry. upon drying, it should sprout roots which will aid in holding the plant firmly in the soil. wait to water the plant again. the roots will strestch and reach looking for more water. the thick leaves can support the plant with water for awhile. eventually, the bottom leaves will soften. now water your plant again. Continuing to do this cycle should ensure a healthy, sturdy plant. When it is big enough, the stem will become hard and "bark" covered. When my plants lean, Ill stake it with hemp rope and bamboo. The thick stems rarely scar or bruise. any other advice i would love to hear as the majority of my collection are jade offspring from the main plant and i am always up for new things to try with them.

Jen, he only had white and yellow left, he just sold the hot pink tree. He had Daisy Wilcox, ruby two and the other names I do not remember, since I was looking for hot pink and reds. I was not interested in white or yellow. He has at least 50 large plumeria trees in his yard. Its like a plumeria forest. He was getting ready for the plumeria society plant sale when I was there, he had an area with nothing but 1 and 2 gallon plumeira plants that he had removed from his greenhouse. I think the sale was in April. I went because we traded cuttings. He wanted Magnum Opus and Siam Ruby, and I got Embers, and was suppost to get California Sally, but he could not find his main plant, he could just find the small plants, so i settled for Thorntons Madi Gras( is it diffrent than Madi Gras? I also bought 3 other cuttings, but I can't remember what I bought. I did buy one plant a Thorntons Lemon drop. The plant was $25, and the cuttings were $10. Both men are in their late 70's, and truly love plumeria. I could listen to them for hours. I hope one weekend you can come down with me, and we will drive to Corpus so you can meet them. They take care of the plumeria trees at the Corpus Christi Botantical Gardens. I wish I would start to feel better, I spend most of my day sleeping. Barbra

Tiffany, would you plant several nodes (piece of vine with leaves intact) horizontally? Or plant a piece of vine deeply with several nodes, removing all but the top leaf? Or possibly a long vine as Massey was asking, with several defoliated leaf nodes deep in the soil? I have always just planted single pothos leaves with their root nodes, in small pots with no drainage :O I've been switching all my plants over to better soil with lots of perlite added -and drainage- as I pot up and they are going crazy. The difference between "doing fine" and thriving just blows my mind. I repotted this guy from a small clay pot without drainage two weeks ago, into a 4" plastic pot, thinking it might be good not to go too large too soon...The roots are coming out the bottom already! (This one's 4 vines) I also chopped up and repotted the straggly old "mama" plant in a much deeper pot, defoliating longer pieces of vine and planting deep, and laying a couple sections horizontally a bit shallower that had sprouts at several of the root nodes. It's looking kind of crappy right now, had been too long in old soggy soil. If it takes off it should be an amazing plant.