Insofar as how it would impact root health, there is no difference between plastic and high-fired clay/ceramic. If you can see no crazing (myriad small cracks reminiscent of a fish net with small holes) in the glaze, you can eliminate anything toxic making its way from the pot to the grow medium. If you haven't fertilized or used any type of tonics, insecticides, leaf shine, detergents, etc., it's a very good bet you have unwittingly over-watered due to the fact there is no way for water to evaporate or be used by the plant as the new medium is not colonized by roots and remains a hostile environment to roots due to lack of oxygen. My suggestion would be to lift the plant from the pot to see it the lower reaches of the soil column are saturated. If so, see figure D below. Remove the soil from the new pot, place an over-turned pot in the bottom of the pot so it fits snugly, and cover the drain hole of the over-turned pot with something that won't rot (it does not need to allow water to drain through the hole in the over-turned pot, but it's ok to use a screen if you wish). Mix enough of the soil that falls away from the roots or remains in the large pot with an equal measure of perlite and fill to the top of the over-turned pot, then reposition your plant on top of the pot. and back-fill with the remaining soil w/o the extra perlite. The shaded areas in the images above represents perched water. By comparing D to A, you can see the over-turned pot significantly reduces the amount of excess (perched) water your soil will b e able to hold, so air will return the the soil much faster. The operational words for the moisture level of a grow medium is damp/moist, never wet/soggy. After having put the pot to work as ballast, start checking moisture levels with a "tell" you can make from a wooden dowel rod. It is far superior to a finger or a "moisture meter". More about using a 'tell': Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Questions? Al

We have several 25 foot tall ficus trees. We need to create growth on the lower trunk so that we can have a hedge / bush growing out of the existing trunks to hide the wall behind them. Right now, the trunks are bare up to the 4 to 5 foot level. We would like to see growth starting at the 2 foot or less level and up. How do we make this happen?

Thank you Dave, Dave, and Ken. I thought the cottony strands might be mealy bug because many leaves had tiny cotton pillows on the underside at the base of the leaf. I had almost eliminated them which is why I was frustrated that the tree continued to suffer. I have added photos which I believe better show the leaves. The first two show leaves with dots and in the third I circled an area. At 10:00, there is a thread-like strand and below that is something that may be mealy bug? The leaves are shiny because they are sticky. I am in PA. If we have a warm spell, what is the lowest temperature at which I could use the Bayer 3-in-1? I guess indoor use is not an option? It has been in its pot for at least three years, maybe longer. I have never done a bare root repot and root prune, but think I need to do it to eliminate the bugs in the soil. The only place I have to do the bare root repot and root prune is in a bathtub in a compact bathroom with no extra space. The tree is 7' high and 4' wide at its widest. Thinking about this practically, to get it into the bathroom, I would prune, not haircut ;-), the tree back more. Then , I would pull the tree out of it's pot, laying it on a tarp. While on the tarp, I would remove whatever soil I could. With this done, I would cross my fingers and hope the tree small enough to maneuver into the bathtub. Would you recommend a smaller pot? or a thorough cleaning of the existing one, which given its size (~17" width at the base, ~23" width at the top, and ~30" high) is easier said than done. Thank you for pointing me to the pruning videos. They were very informative. Yes, it is the safari-jacket lady in multiple videos. I have added a photo of the light that was delivered today. Is this strong enough? Would spraying with Safer EndALL and Safer Insect Killer Soap be of any value? Thank you so much for responding to my post. Doing so, makes me feel like I have a fighting chance to safe the tree and that I'm not in this alone. I am so grateful for your recommendations.

The chemical you refer to is for stump removal. The stump is cut as low as possible, holes are drilled in it and the chemical is poured into the holes. After several weeks the stump becomes soft and can be removed in chunks, but nowhere can I find any information as to what if anything happens to the roots. As long as ficus trees don't re-sprout from their roots you shouldn't have a problem. However, removal of any large tree leaves roots in the ground. Some tree roots rot away quickly and some tree roots take longer. If you want to plant another tree or shrub next to the remains of the ficus trees, you will have to cut out any roots that are in the way of planting.