Nil is correct, method 1 is standard for planting into the ground, and method 2 works for pots. However, what should be added to that is that when you root prune, your goal is obviously to reduce the space the roots take up, so eliminating the least useful roots is what you want to do. The larger the root, the less useful it is, being that large roots are more of an anchor, which is great in the ground, but not necessary in a pot. The small feeder roots are what you want, as they do all the work of taking in water and nutrients. I have a rather large ficus 'alii' that I got free from a plant shop, because it was "dead". I literally grabbed it out of the rolling dump cart on its way outside. It was so root bound that the plastic pot was severely bulged, and it probably couldn't take up water, as there was hardly any soil. Long story short, it is now a beautiful tree, thriving in barkless gritty mix. What I did was grab a pruning saw, and cut out ALL roots larger than about 3/4", clipped any dead branches off, clean the old soil off the roots, fill in the gritty mix, and wait. After a few months it sprang to life, and has only improved from there. As for upkeep, I repot it every couple of years, as needed. I basically scoop away the loose gritty mix, pull the tree from the pot, and most of the mix will easily shake away from the roots. I remove about 1/4 to 1/3 of the roots, targeting the largest ones. I usually prune out some foliage to maintain a good form too. Better for you to choose which leaves go, rather than let the plant choose. I know I said long story short, so I guess I got a bit carried away. Anywho, the gist of it is to cut out the large anchor roots each time you repot. Good luck, have fun, and enjoy the benefits of a job well done. Joe

Ines 99, here is a photo instruction I copied from GW. I don't remember who's post it was but worked for me. Here's the basics: I think it's easier to do all this if you have two browser windows open - one on photobucket and one on gardenweb. Go to photobucket(dot)com and open an account. It's free, takes only a minute, and is no harder than signing on to GardenWeb. There are other photo posting services but I think this one is the easiest to use. Once you have the account you'll see how easy it is to upload your photos to photobucket. You can set up sub-albums with one click of the mouse, so you can sort your photos into different subject (more on that below). When they are there, you'll see three little 'addresses' under each picture. Highlight the middle one - the TAG line - and 'copy' it. (You can copy it by right clicking on your mouse and selecting 'copy', or by clicking on EDIT at the very top of your computer screen.) Once it's copied, go to the GardenWeb message you are composing and paste the TAG line directly into the text of your message. Don't put it at the URL line under the text box. At this point you will only see text, but once you choose to view your message you'll see the photo. If it comes out too big, then go back to photobucket and choose the EDIT button over that photo. You'll have the option there to reduce the photo by 75, 50, or 25 percent. 75% makes it a good size for these messages, but 50% works too. Try both on different photos and see what you like. Technically I think you can post as many photos as you want in each message but remember that not everyone has a high speed line and try to keep it to 5 or less. More than that makes it pretty slow to load for some. Here's the sub-album tip about photobucket or any other service you use: set up sub-albums for different subjects so you don't end up with 200 photos in one album. For example, I have Garden 2005, Garden 2006, House Shots, Yard Sale (where I post photos for things I am selling through the newspaper or eBay), All the Muffins (pet pictures), etc. Besides making it hard to find something if you have it all in one album, if you ever decide to move photos later, any link you've posted on the web will be lost.

Hi nova12, Well I did the same thing about 2 months ago and I was worried too but once the roots got going it only took about 2-3 weeks and it started to grow leaves the right way up and now after 3 months it is a very beautiful Hoya and the leaves are now growing the right way up.So don't worry too much as your not the only one to make this mistake lol..Hope your Hoya grows as well as mine did..Karen...

Lydia - wow! Your Merrillii is stunning! Tony - I was finding some holes on my citrus trees. I was told to look for caterpillars or slugs. I never found anything. Then I found out slugs come out at night and leave by morning sun. Sure enough I went out one night with a flashlight and saw some on the ground near the trees. I moved the trees to a drier section of the driveway and haven't had an issue since. Just a thought.