Al: Oh, I do indeed have more trees! I am a bit overwhelmed by the number of pots both in and outside of my home. I am an incurable collector. I could ask you questions about them all day. . . Back in March, you answered several of my questions about making the gritty mix when I was just embarking upon that adventure. I put a few plants that were on death's doorstep in the mix then. A few didn't make it (a draceana among them), a few are thriving (the aloe and spider plant love the mix!), most have held steady and are starting to show signs of growth (shefflera, swiss cheese philodendron). So I do have a sense of the patience required when repotting before the optimal time. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of undertaking things at the right time. It's been nice to practice with the mix, learn about it's water retention, and begin to tweak it for my needs before I moved my most-beloveds into it. This week I chopped an enormous floppy jade back to it's thick base and put it in the mix. Looking forward to that development. Also a favorite cactus whose name I don't know; it's about four feet tall, main stalk about 3-4" diameter with five stalks coming off the main, so maneuvering it was an exciting project. I was nervous about that one, but glad I did it when I got in there and saw how cemented the roots were in the hardest soil I've ever dealt with. I have a ficus lyrata (fiddle fig) that also reaches the ceiling, so I'm using your advice to give it a new shape. I'm planning on following roughly the same timing for it as for the elastica. I have a very big Bloodgood maple in a pot that's too big to move. I'd love to get that back to a manageable size, but it has just leafed out beautifully and I'm thinking that it is not the right time for that. Your comments are welcome. My other big question involves conifers. I have a very sick Wilma Goldcrest Cypress, and some kind of arborvitae (I think). I've noted that you don't recommend bare-rooting these, but cutting wedges. Is that correct? What about timing? Okay, I've rambled enough. As you can probably tell now, I'm addicted (like many folks I've read on this site). Thanks again for your help. I'm really enjoying learning about the plants, seeing their roots, and giving them conditions to thrive. blessings, brenda

In zone 10, and especially if the plant is very young, you can repot now if you like. You can pot up at any time with little worry about the season, but repotting includes root work and soil removal. With the greater photo-intensity and longer photo-period afforded by your zone, you can get away with a lot more than those of us living at more northerly latitudes. If you do repot now, it's best to make sure you keep the soil temperature above 55* after the repot to speed things along. Though the tropical Ficus will tolerate the stress of lower temps, they don't like it. Cool temperatures affect the plant's ability to carry on normal photosynthesis, and the plant returns to its normal ability only slowly after being reintroduced to more favorable temps. A good way to think of your houseplants is to imagine they have a thermostat. When the temperature is above 55*, they pretty much run on photosynthate being currently produced. By the time the temperature has dropped to below 55*, most of your houseplants will have switched off sun power in favor of battery power (running on stored energy reserves). The problem with that scenario, is the amount of stored energy is finite, and the plant will continue to decline (use up its reserves) until things warm up. It's best to make it a nonissue and keep your plants warmer than 60* at all times if possible ...... unless you have plants that lend themselves to being forced into a situational/environmental dormancy (not a good idea with F elastica). Al

The first and the last are the mother plant that's as tall as my lips ( im5f 6in) the middle is a cutting I rooted from one leaf and one node two years ago!! It's ridiculous how this plant spits out growth I love it! I don't see many tree like rubber tree plants anymore, mine is bigger then most people I know. Then again I don't really get out much lately ;)

Come to think about it, yes it has been in that pot for all these years. Add to that, I have never changed the soil either. It is certainly not distressed though... Why sell it? I simply have too many large plants. Maybe I will consider keeping this one and selling the 2 potted 6' tall Yucca trees ( 3' pots and 3 trees each). Here is a pic of one of them from a few years back. They are now about 1/3 larger and much more full at the base.