Norfolk Island Pine?

Question

I have a 4' plant in a 10" pot it also has 2 two foot plants with it. I want to seperate them into three pots , what direction can you give me. My plants are beautiful and are growing straight but three in one pot troubles me.


sincerely
Joseph Andrzejewski

[e-mail]

Answer 1

I have one of those pines too and its a beautiful plant. I agree with you that the smaller ones definitely need to have their own pots.However i have a feeling that the roots are probably very inter-twined. The best advice I can give is this: Spread out a big area of newspapers or plastic. unpot the pines by grasping the trunks firmly but gently while having someone else pull gently downwards on the pot while grasping the rim with a slight twisting motion ( you will need 1 or 2 helpers for this procedure). it will help if the plant is neither too wet or too dry. if there is a hole in the bottom of the pot, hook a finger in it and pull down as the other person is pushing down by the rim.
once you have it unpotted, try gently teasing the smaller plants away from the main one. if they refuse to come apart then the next step is to begin wetting the root ball as your teasing adding a little bit of water at atime until you feel the roots begin to seperate. if this method doesnt work, then im afraid you will have to do one of two things: 1) with a VERY sharp and clean serrated blade butcher or bread knife. cut the two smaller plants away from the main rootball taking about 1 fifth to 1 quarter of the rootball with each. have the transplant pots ready and immediately repot all three plants and fill in the spaces around the rootballs with a good quality slightly moistened potting soil. being careful to pack the soil only slightly so that its still spongy and not compacted into a solid mass. water them immediately and thouroughly, adding more soil if the soil level drops. leave them on the plastic to drain. 2) if the cutting technique doesnt seem feasible then as a last resort, fill the bathtub or a large sink with lluke-warm water and place the rootball in it and let it soak for about 10 minutes totally immersed. then begin to gently tease the plants apart. they will eventually seperate using this method but you will basically be left with bare root plants and they will need to be planted into new soil with the roots needing to be manually spread out and covered with soil in layers til the pots are filled. the transplant shock is severe for this kind of treatment and the newly potted plants will have to be kept out of direct sun and be misted several times daily for the next 2 weeks at least.
good luck!

Answer 2

Your plant is a house plant in Canada and could be lifeless as quickly because it freezes. they have notably delicate branches so I actually have a feeling they'll seem limp and not so solid in case you make certain you do no longer care in the event that they freeze and purely pick them to stay and beautify. Like a spruce tree, you are able to shrink and it ought to be ornamental on your porch for months, yet i do no longer think of the norfolk may well be the comparable. I advise you detect something else to beautify with and save the Norfolks interior.

Answer 3

You need to separate them soon. use a sharp knife to separate the root system. You might find a local garden store that would help you...