Hi, Mike. Your zone is probably 5b or 6a, just for your info.

It sounds like you've done some research and have a good handle on what's required and when the best time to repot and do any serious pruning. Jane always tells people spring is a good time to repot, and I usually follow with the explanation that "spring" covers a lot of ground - like from Mar 21 - Jun 21. Spring Mar 21 is a really bad time to repot. Spring Jun 21 is a really GOOD time to repot. The reason is easy - almost all houseplants are at the lowest energy level of the growth cycle in early spring, so heavy work (repotting and hard pruning) is very stressful and recoveries excessively long. Plants are full of energy and in the most robust part of the growth cycle around the summer solstice or Father's Day (easy to remember), so they quickly bounce back and enthusiastically await their next challenge, which is often a good pruning.

What recipe you choose for your potting mix makes a significant difference in how much enthusiasm your plant exhibits. My suggestion is that you establish (for all your plants) the minimum standard that you should be able to water your plants at will w/o the need to worry your soil will remain soggy so long it impairs root health and root function. If you elect to use anything less, you'll be battling your soil for control over your plant's vitality, and that means there's a lot of potential not being realized. It sounds like you've already done a lot of reading about soils, but if not, click this link to go to a discussion that goes into significant detail about the effects water:air relationships in container soils have on how easy/difficult it is to provide a healthy home for roots; with healthy roots being an absolute prerequisite to a healthy plant. If you have questions about soils, it's a good place to go for straight answers.

Don't change the cutting's soil at this point. You can push an absorbent wick into a drain hole through the bottom at the side of the pot, then tip the pot toward the wick. IMPORTANT: Make SURE there are drain holes in the bottom of the cutting container. You can also hold the pot over the sink and move it downward then sharply upward. This uses Newton's First Law of Motion - The Law of Inertia to drain any excess water from the soil. The rule for cuttings is damp or moist - never wet or soggy. The cutting needs to take in oxygen to keep living tissues inside the cutting viable. It can't do that in a saturated medium.

If you're using rain water or snow melt or some other form of water that is essentially deionized, you can water in sips w/o the plant paying for that practice as it would if you were using tap water. The problem with that is, there might be areas in the pot that remain very dry, which means dieback of the important fine roots in those areas. Also, the pot that you have the parent plant in has a reservoir that can be a problem. You'd be better off to remove the reservoir or poke a hole in it so it doesn't hold any water, then set the planting in a collection saucer that you can empty when drainage has stopped.

Al

Hi again

It is finally getting warm in the Chicago area and I am ready to get my hands dirty with a repot of the Rubber Plant. I plan on doing this around June 1 - June 15.

My ultimate vision is to have one "tree" with a trunk and a canopy that looks like a tree. I have plenty of space inside the house and have great light on my main floor. The other Rubbers that are divided up can either go in other rooms, or can be gifts.

My concern is the roots are circling and there are large brown roots (they are the same color and texture as the stems, and pretty thick -- they are just growing around vs up) and I am wondering how to best deal with these.

Other Questions:

-Considering there are 5+ stems in the pot currently, can I separate these out and put them in separate pots vs taking cuttings of the stems I want to eliminate?

-What large/circling roots should I cut/trim, if any?

-Is the gritty mix with Oscomote Plus controlled release a good soil/fertilizer combo? Should I wait to water for a few days after the tree or trees are repotted?

-What is the best way to deal with aerial roots? I think that the ultimate "tree" I am envisioning would look awesome with some aerial roots going from the trunk back into the soil, but right now all the aerial roots are very thin and are going up, sideways down, etc.

Also, I looked at the plant yesterday and while it is starting to slowly grow, I expected more growth by now. I think that the old soil and the tightness of the rootball are probably preventing the tree from thriving. I also wonder about the PH of the soil as the container I pulled it out of had a lot of white residue on the sides (assume salt).

Interestingly enough, I took a cutting September 2015 and cut one of the stems almost to the soil line, and right below the cut, I see a small bud forming. I am shocked that a hard prune like this is producing a possible branch....

Any help would be much appreciated!

My ultimate vision is to have one "tree" with a trunk and a canopy that looks like a tree. Did you know you can have more than 1 trunk and still have a composition that looks like a single tree?

My concern is the roots are circling and there are large brown roots
(they are the same color and texture as the stems, and pretty thick --
they are just growing around vs up) and I am wondering how to best deal
with these. Pictures, please? You you set a goal to eliminate all problem roots. Circling, girdling, j-hooked roots and roots growing straight up, down, or back toward the center of the root mass should be eliminated, as well as large roots not attached to the base of the tree. You might not be able to eliminate ALL of those in one operation, but 2 or 3 sessions at 1 or 2 year intervals until you get the roots into manageable shape should be enough to get even the worst of the worst turned around. Start by sawing the bottom half of the roots off and work from there. In my estimation, giving up (pruning) a lot of top mass, which allows you to prune roots harder than if you left all the top mass is well worth the sacrifice if it means getting the tree turned around faster. I've repotted ficus at LEAST 1,000 times and there is no doubt that sacrificing a significant amount of mass and enduring a few weeks of pouting will leaver you with a healthier and much faster growing tree than if you'd have allowed Mother Nature to have her way. No pain - no gain.

Considering there are 5+ stems in the pot currently, can I separate
these out and put them in separate pots vs taking cuttings of the stems I
want to eliminate? Yes. If there are 5 plants instead of a trunk that branches 5 times, success is pretty certain if you're potting into a good soil. If you have to separate 4 of the secondary branches or trunks by pruning them off of the main trunk and they don't have roots, success isn't as certain, but there are things you can do to help ensure the cuttings strike. That's a bridge to cross when you get to it.

-What large/circling roots should I cut/trim, if any? Again, some pictures would be helpful. You can let me know ahead of when you plan to do the work and post pics after you've cut the bottom half of the roots off, I can help guide you. You can even leave the root mass in a bucket of water over night if need be.

Is the gritty mix with Oscomote Plus controlled release a good
soil/fertilizer combo? Yes, excellent. Gritty mix with a light charge of CRF and regular use of Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is what I would use and what I enthusiastically recommend. Should I wait to water for a few days after the
tree or trees are repotted? No. Water immediately - as soon as you have the soil settled around the roots. Use a hose to spray water until water draining runs perfectly clear and the soil is it's fully settled around roots. Retain a mental image of where the roots are in the pot and make SURE the soil surrounding roots is always moist - even if you have to water daily or twice per day for a week or so.

What is the best way to deal with aerial roots? I think that the
ultimate "tree" I am envisioning would look awesome with some aerial
roots going from the trunk back into the soil, but right now all the
aerial roots are very thin and are going up, sideways down, etc. You must have VERY high humidity for aerial roots to grow long enough to make it to the soil ........ or use one of several tricks to keep them alive until they make it into the soil. You can graft 'aerial' roots to branches of many species of ficus, but it's not practical to try to graft elastica that way.

Interestingly enough, I took a cutting September 2015 and cut one of the
stems almost to the soil line, and right below the cut, I see a small
bud forming. I am shocked that a hard prune like this is producing a
possible branch.... What surprises you is expected by me. Removing 99% of the auxin produced by the tree in a hard chop allows cytokinin to become the dominant growth regulator. Auxin suppresses lateral growth and cytokinin stimulates it. With a little more familiarity with how upsetting the balance between the 2 growth regulators locally and collectively, and getting to know a little about the plant's natural rhythms, you'll soon be reliably predicting the reaction to various types of pruning.

There are always more rungs on the ladder that help serve to elevate the plane on which you interact with your plants. I'm assuming that learning you can actually manipulate and control your plants' growth habits to a much greater degree than you might have previously thought is an exciting concept for you. I know I'm always excited to learn something that allows me to manipulate plants in new ways, even though I've been focusing on manipulation for more than 30 years. The more I learn, the more rewarding 'growing stuff' becomes.

Al

OK - that takes care of the base of the plant - now how about a look at the whole thing so I can gauge it's state of vitality?

Al

It is in front of a large S/SW window. Has not grown any new leaves since I bought it in Fall 2015. A bottom leaf will yellow and fall at a rate of 1 every 2 months. I test soil with a skewer and water thoroughly with rain or distilled water when almost dry.

I can't remember asking if you've been fertilizing.

With root congestion comes a lack of extension growth and loss of lower/interior leaves. These symptoms occur no matter how perfect other influences might be. I think you'll see a big difference if you repot (as opposed to just potting up. Potting up will marginally relieve the suppression of growth and loss of inner leaves. Repotting removes all limitations imposed by root congestion.

Al

I have fertilized only 1 time since I have owned the plant (last watering I fertilized with Dyna-gro 936 diluted per the instructions on the bottle.) The plan is a full repot....new pot, root prune, gritty mix with Oscomote crf. I have already repotted a few of my other plants and all of them are doing very well and growing noticeably (all except my Cycad who I know is a slow poke).

My main question regarding the rubber plant repot is -- should I completely remove the large roots circling at the top of the pot? Should I trim these so they branch off or start to grow down?

Also -- should I prune the top stems at the same time as the repot? I actually would like to add some growth this year and re-vitalize the tree and maybe save the top pruning for next year.

Thanks Al for your guidance...

Ideally, you'd be flushing the soil regularly and fertilizing at least every 2 weeks.

Yes - remove the encircling roots by cutting them all the way back to a root growing in an appropriate position, or within a few inches of the trunk if they're attached to the trunk.

If it was my tree, I would saw the bottom 1/3 of the root mass off, then correct the problem roots (encircling, girdling, j-hooked roots, roots growing back toward the center of the root mass, and roots growing upward. Next repot, remove any roots growing straight or almost straight downward. The ideal situation is to have a fairly flat system of large roots near the top of the pot radiating horizontally from the trunk, and lots of increasingly smaller roots radiating off the larger roots near the surface that serve as anchors and plumbing. If you have to remove a LOT of roots, you might have to cut the top back, but because the plant will grow soooo much faster after the repot, it's not likely you'll end up with less mass than you would have had if you hadn't touched the roots. IOW, even with root pruning and a reduction in top mass, your tree should end up with more mass by late fall than it would have if you'd not touched it or only potted up.

I see that ALL the time. If I run out of time for repots, it's not unusual to have a plant that hasn't been repotted for 3-4 years and the growth of which has pretty much stalled. A hard root pruning & soil change leaves a plant that pouts for 2 weeks, but then grows 10X faster (a guess) than it did while root bound.

Al

Great Al...thanks!

One more question, should I do the repot now, or should I wait until mid June?

This next week is supposed to be warm in Chicago suburbs (80s daytime 60s nighttime) and I was thinking of repotting tomorrow and placing the plant outside in the shade for a week, and then slowly aclimitizing it to full sun or partial shade.

Good idea or no?

Still too cool at night. I'd wait at LEAST until Mem Day. If it was mine - mid-June. It'll be interesting to see how your patience bone deals with your enthusiasm. ;-)

Al

Alright, I couldn't wait any longer and did the full repot today. I took many photos so everyone could see what was going on. I removed the large and circling roots as close to the main trunk mass as possible. There were also 2 large round roots going straight down, that I cut back so they are just a few inches long. I also cut the smaller stems back to the surface, and will attempt to root one as a cutting.

Root mass was then placed in the gritty mix. I also added some Oscomote CRF and then watered thoroughly with rain water. I used the same plastic pot, and rinsed and washed it before putting everything back in.

It is interesting that only an hour or so after the repot, the leaves seem to have perked up big time (I note that the topmost leaves are now almost vertical to the ground.)

Questions:

1) With the amount of roots I removed, should I prune up top?

2) Am I okay to start fertilizing with Foliage Pro 936?

3) As long as the high temperatures at night are above 60, should I place it outside, or should I let it adjust/rest after the shock of the repot?

4) Any other suggestions?

Photos of Repotting:

1) With the amount of roots I removed, should I prune up top? If you don't see the leaves hanging down (wilting) during the day - no need to reduce the canopy.

2) Am I okay to start fertilizing with Foliage Pro 936? Wait until the plant starts pushing new growth. I would have withheld the CRF until that time, too. Lopw fertilite makes it easier for the plant to take up water - which is of value after extensive root work. Also, roots reestablish and colonize the soil mass faster when fertility is low. Generally I wait 2 weeks or until I see new growth to fertilize.

3) As long as the high temperatures at night are above 60, should I
place it outside, or should I let it adjust/rest after the shock of the
repot? No. As long as the LOW temps are above 60* you can keep it outdoors in open shade and out of wind.

4) Any other suggestions? That pot has a very small base and is going to be very tippy. You might find a larger/heavier pot with a bigger base and fill the bottom with rocks/gravel/bricks while it's outdoors.

Al

Thanks Al....I will keep you posted on the tree's progress...

I plan on removing the bottom resovoir when it goes outside -- that way it will be free to drain should it rain. The pot is also deceptively heavy due to the gritty mix, and I planted it a bit lower than it was previously. It seems well balanced in the container. A larger ornate pot may not be a bad choice though for the outdoors....I'll have to do some shopping!

As far as the roots go, do you think I removed the correct amount of rootage? Too much? Too little?

It looks about right for the first repot. Next time, you can get more aggressive with large roots not attached at the soil line/root to shoot transition zone.

Al

Quick update....I have good news and bad news.

The good news is the cutting I took is doing very well and has lots of new buds/growth 2 months post cut.

The bad news is the mother plant has not grown at all. The mother plant is outside on a northwest facing porch and only gets a few hours of direct sun. It is alive and well, and the leaves a pretty perky, but the top growing tips have not turned into leaves.

Any ideas?

Photo of cutting....apparently the top growing tip had previously been broken off, so it is forming buds all over!

The picture is illustrative of what happens in plants when the apical meristem (tip of branch or stem where extension growth occurs) is removed. It changes the balance of growth regulators such that the growth regulator that stimulates lateral breaks (back-budding) becomes dominant so all the new buds become dedicated to growing up to be new branches.

If the top of the parent plant isn't growing, it's because the plant's internal chemical messengers are telling it it doesn't have a sufficient volume of roots to support additional canopy volume. When it does, the top will grow. Be careful not to over-water, and don't be too aggressive with fertilizer until you see new growth. In fact, I'd withhold all but a token amount of fertilizer until it starts pushing new growth. Plants tend to colonize the soil mass with roots faster when fertility is low.

Al

Thanks Al. Other than the CRF that I included in the gritty mix when repotting the main plant, I did not fertilize and have been stingy with the watering. Also, the plastic pot the main plant is in drains very very quickly and fully.

For the cutting, should I fertilize at this point? I have not fertilized to date, and there is no CRF in that soil mix (which is part gritty mix and part commercial seed starting mix).

If the cutting is pushing new growth, you should be fertilizing.

Al

Cutting update....lots of new leaves!!!

Strong work! Looks great! How's the momma doing?

Al

Still no new growth on the mother plant. Hopefully next spring/summer it will start to take off. I have not fertilized and have been stingy with the water. Any other suggestions? It is getting the exact same light as the cutting...

Also, I removed one stem last week that was growing at an angle. So the total amount of leaves was reduced by about 6 or 7

Roots have recovered by now, so you could be fertilizing with better results. Make sure the plant gets the light it needs & it will grow. Good luck - glad to see the cutting doing so admirably.

Al

8 week update -- the cutting continues to grow vigorously. 2 more leaves broke thru just last week. The only problem with this vigorous growth is that there are now roots that are clearly hitting the side of the container. Should I pot up the cutting now, or should I wait until spring/summer 2017?

Also, the mother plant continues to be stagnant. There are now roots growing out of the drain holes, but no new growth up top, and it has actually lost 3-4 bottom leaves over the last 2 months.

If you think it will keep growing vigorously, I would repot it pretty soon. That's s good sign, though :)

To clear up any confusion. Don't repot. As you stated in this thread, you just repotted in June. And now, as you know, wouldn't be a good time to repot.

Potting up wouldn't hurt it if you truly feel it's root bound. Have you removed it from the pot to see?

Dave, the cutting was taken mid June this year and placed in the current pot. Judging from the growth up top and the roots that are breaking the surface of the soil/hitting the sides, I am guessing it has almost filled the pot it is in. Plan was only a pot up procedure sometime soon (I would pull it out of the current pot and place it in a larger pot with gritty mix and CRF, without a root pruning). Re-pot will happen June 2017.

That's best plan. If the gritty mix is properly screened, you really can't over-pot unless you're really, REALLY going overboard re a watering schedule. I'm wondering what's holding up the parent plant, though. It should be recovered & growing.

Al

The only difference I can think of is that the cutting is in a mix of seed starting mix and the gritty mix. The parent plant is in pure gritty mix and CRF. Would you suggest pure gritty mix for the cutting when I pot up?

Potting up of the cutting took place last night. I didn't remove all of the soil in the rootball, but did remove as much as I could to free up the roots without disturbing the plant too much. I also cut off one large root growing near the surface.

I know you say it was in a mix of gritty and seed starter mix. But it looks more like regular potting soil.

That on the inside around the root ball with pure gritty on the outside may cause watering issues.

its going to stay wet on the inside and dry on the outside.

You should always pot up with the same medium.

Dave, I plan to do a full repot in June, so I'll get the rest of the seed starting mix off the roots then. I would have liked to get it all off this time, but I was afraid of disturbing the roots too much. I usually check the soil moisture with a skewer in multiple spots, so I think i will have a fairly good idea of when to water.

Hi everyone....quick update on the main plant and cutting.

The main plant has been losing leaves at a very fast rate.....2-3 a day for the last few days. I have not overwatered (if anything, I have underwatered, as the skewer I place in the gritty mix is slightly moist.) All the lower leaves and some middle leaves had yellowed and browned. I don't know how much longer the main plant will make it (at this rate, maybe a few weeks). I decided to take 2 cuttings today (even though it is a challenging time of year to get a cutting to strike successfully) to try and salvage something. Both were placed in gritty mix in front of a SE window in the warmest room in the house. One cutting is in a plastic covered box, the other is not. If the cuttings make it, I'll start a separate post with the step by step procedure I used.

The cutting I took this summer is still doing quite well. It lost one lower leaf, but I think this is because I let the soil get too dry after the pot-up (waited 2 weeks). The cutting is still perky. I did notice that some of the leaves show very small spots of "white crust" or powder. Is this a cause for concern?

Good news and bad news to report:

Bad news is the mother plant is a goner.

The good news is the cutting (by now I should just call it a plant/tree) is growing vigorously, with new growth apparent almost daily.

Question is....now that it is in active growth, should I prune the one branch (it is the one on the right in the photos) back to 2 leaves? Is it too soon to prune (should I wait until mid June)? Can the central stem remain as the "leader" for the near future? I want the plant to resemble a small tree, with one central trunk and a round canopy. Photos below.

Branches are to trunks as streams are to rivers. Branches move food back to the trunk(s). The more branches/leaves there are feeding into the trunk, the faster the tree increases in mass and the faster the trunk thickens, so never be in a hurry to rid the plant of organs that are actually serving a useful function. Never cut just for the sake of cutting - have an idea of what you're trying to achieve. Even if the branch you asked about grew to 10 ft tall, you could always remove it any time you wish ...... but you can't put it back once it's taken off.

I'm guessing you're thinking the smaller, more nearly vertical branch is what you want as your trunk line? If so, you might concentrate on building THAT trunk line and letting the large branch (what appears to be the main trunk at this time) act as a sacrifice branch for the time being. If that trunk is growing or leaning too far in one direction, all you need to do to change it's direction and move the apex back toward the center is prune back to a leaf that is pointed in the direction the branch needs to go.

There is no need to keep all the 'stuff' your trees grow. That's what pruners are for. Plan ahead, then get rid of the ugly stuff.

Here's a tree that was 8-10 ft tall in one of my raised beds. I chopped it back to this:

After another pruning session (below), spring of '16.

I've trained a branch into a new leader last summer and created the beginning of the top of this tree. The wounds are also starting to close. I'll provide a picture if there is interest, I just haven't taken one yet. I guess my purpose in showing the images is to illustrate that you ALWAYS have significant sway over what direction your tree will take if you gain 3 things. The ability to keep your trees healthy, some ability to look forward in time and make decisions based on your plants' predictable responses, and some confidence in the boldness of your actions.

Strangely enough, there are 3 kinds of growers; the kind that is perfectly happy just letting their plants grow as they will; the kind that Is willing to act provisionally to make their plants more appealing to the eye; and, the kind that is willing to plan ahead and endure ugly duckling stages in order to end up one day with something as graceful as a swan.

Al

Thanks for your guidance Al. I would like to experiment with this plant and learn the basic techniques of pruning.

Am I safe to do some pruning now, or should I wait until late May/June as the tree will have more energy reserves at that time? I am thinking that I would prune the tallest leader/branch on the right back to 2 leaves, which would give me at least 2 new branches at those leaves, and would result in a thickening of the central branch. I would also attempt to root the cutting (I may ask for some cutting tips at that time too)

I am also planning on doing a light root prune this summer to make sure there are no roots that are out of control. It seems, in my limited experience with these plants, I have found their roots can get pretty thick and aggressive. I would like to keep the plant in this planter for at least 1 more year.

Awesome, thank you again Al. I'll wait, but I can't wait to start pruning and shaping this plant!

I will definitely check out this link -- I have a small Jade as well and would like to prune/shape it this summer.

I'll report back once I prune in mid June.

Good afternoon! It is 85 degrees, sunny and humid in the Chicago burbs and we are entering prime pruning and repotting season! The cutting/tree is continuing to grow quickly, putting out a leaf or 2 per week. Here is my plan, please let me know if this makes sense and if anyone has further recommendations:

*6/11 - remove plant from pot, inspect roots, do light root trim, and place in same pot. Remove all residual potting soil from roots. Add new sprinkling of CRF to gritty mix (not sure if I should wait to do this, since I understand roots will grow quicker with low soil fertility)

*6/12 -6/24 - give plant time to recover from de-potting and root work. Thinking more leaves (no pruning yet) will provide more energy for the tree to use to recover from root work. QUESTION: should I fertilize during watering w/FP following this work?

*6/25 - prune right branch/longest leader back down to 2 or 3 leaves. QUESTION: since the lower 3 leaves face outwards, is it possible to get back budding at all 3 leaves, or is this too ambitious/greedy? I will attempt to root the cutting. QUESTION: should I remove the growing tip from the cutting? Will this change the growth hormones and encourage rooting?

*7/9 - prune left branch down to 2 or 3 leaves. Again, if I trim down to 3 leaves, could I potentially get branching at all 3 stems? Ideally, I would want a branch at leaf #1 and leaf #3 (see photos below) since leaf #2 is below that branch.

Thanks everyone!!!

Any suggestions/recommendations before I start step 1 this weekend? Thanks!

I'll give it a shot, since nobody else has answered. I'm sure someone will correct me if my ideas are completely off base.

*6/11 - remove plant from pot, inspect roots, do light root trim, and place in same pot. Remove all residual potting soil from roots. Add new sprinkling of CRF to gritty mix (not sure if I should wait to do this, since I understand roots will grow quicker with low soil fertility)

I'm not sure about the CRF. Foliage Pro is more complete than most kinds of CRF. But I use it every time I water, so I've never understood why you'd risk throwing off the nutrient balance by adding CRF. But that's just me...At any rate, Al has said to fertilize when you see new growth, but I've seen it go both ways.

What do you mean by 'light root trim'? I'd follow the directions Al gave for root pruning, and if you'd like I can post more detailed root pruning instructions Al gave in another post (yes, I'm a nerd who saves quotes in my notes app). At any rate, keep a pail of water nearby so you could swish the roots around to help get all the soil out and to keep the roots moist, and use a chopstick or something like that to push the new mix into gaps.

*6/12 -6/24 - give plant time to recover from de-potting and root work. Thinking more leaves (no pruning yet) will provide more energy for the tree to use to recover from root work. QUESTION: should I fertilize during watering w/FP following this work?

Again, Al has said to start fertilizing when you see new growth, which indicates the plant/roots have recovered from repotting.

*6/25 - prune right branch/longest leader back down to 2 or 3 leaves. QUESTION: since the lower 3 leaves face outwards, is it possible to get back budding at all 3 leaves, or is this too ambitious/greedy? I will attempt to root the cutting. QUESTION: should I remove the growing tip from the cutting? Will this change the growth hormones and encourage rooting?

*7/9 - prune left branch down to 2 or 3 leaves. Again, if I trim down to 3 leaves, could I potentially get branching at all 3 stems? Ideally, I would want a branch at leaf #1 and leaf #3 (see photos below) since leaf #2 is below that branch.

Again, the time to prune is after you see new growth on the plant. As far as I know, the exceptions would be after heavy root work, in which case you might want to reduce the plant mass at the same time to avoid too much stress on the plant, or if you're Al and doing radical work based on expert knowledge.

Pruning and pinching encourage back budding in nodes on the branches by interrupting the downward flow from the growing tip of the inhibitory hormone (auxin?).I believe that the root system grows or shrinks in response to changes in the plant mass, (also when recovering from pruning, changes in growing conditions, die-off from over- or under-watering, etc., but that's another matter).

Sorry I can't opine on the specifics about the pruning cuts. I just don't want my inexperience to lead you astray!!

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it! I'll post some pictures of what I do this weekend.

The plant is only 1 year old so I do not believe I will need to do drastic root work. I am going to cut any defective or roots growing in an incorrect direction. I am also going to trim back all the roots in an effort to get more ramification. I would love to keep this plant in the same pot for 1-2 more years, but realize I will need to do root work every year to keep the roots under control.

I know that pruning vegetation can cause ramification and backbudding, but I haven't seen anything installing that the same things apply to root work, or that roots need some sort of stimulation to make them grow a well-developed root system.

On the other hand, I know a lot more about what goes on aboveground than the mysterious processes that go on underground!

Re-pot and root prune took place today. The root mass was quite large, and some of the larger roots had started to circle the pot.

I removed all the residual potting soil/seed starter mix. I also removed about 1/3 to 1/2 of the root mass. I removed a large root near the old soil line, and kept a large root lower down, and used that as the new soil line (effectively adding a few inches of height to the trunk). I also added a sprinkling of Oscomote CRF and after all the gritty mix was replaced, I watered the plant thoroughly with rainwater. I removed 1 of the original 4 leaves from when the cutting was taken (this leaf was fairly low on the trunk).

Wow, that looks great. I can only hope that the incredibly sparse root system on my old leggy schefflera is anywhere near what you have there after eight months in 5:1:1 mix. I'll know in a week or so; that schefflera is first in line for repotting.

Lots of activity this morning! I was concerned that the leaves may be quite droopy given the amount of roots I removed and the warm/dry/windy weather we have had here over the last 3 days. I woke up to 1 new unfurled leaf, and the other 2 leaves had broken thru their sheaths. We'll see what it looks like when I return late this afternoon from the office.

Litterbuggy....I just repotted my schefflera a few weeks back. My was also quite leggy and 2 of the braided trunks had died, but it is starting to fill in nicely now. Good luck with yours!

I know my little scheff is doing well, and it took months after repotting before the big one to recover, but now it's growing like crazy. The post-re-repotting plan is to prune all the branches down to the base and keep after it until it's a round bushy thing I can put in front of the window to keep things cooler in the spring and fall.

Family photo.....original cutting and cutting of a cutting. Both doing well.