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first of all, your article was so helpful and informative. I'm hoping that you'll be able to provide some guidance on my situation.
I bought a 2.75 gal plumeria tree from Home Depot. Most of the choices only had one tree in the container, but I bought one that actually had two trees growing. The larger of the two is a little over 2 ft tall with lots of leaves. The other is about 9 in. tall with some leaves. Can/should i separate them? If so, how do i do it without causing damage to either tree? What size pots do I replant them in? so many questions... I appreciate any help and/or direction you have to offer.
I'm glad you found my article helpful and informative. I always like hearing that.
I would definitely separate them. I don't know why they are planted and sold like that, but these are trees that need their own root space.
The easiest way is to wait until the soil is slightly dry and gently pull them apart. Shake the soil off as you pull to relieve the weight on the rootball. There may be some root breakage, but that doesn't matter because they will quickly recover. You can also use a water spray to gently rinse the soil off of their roots and pull them apart once the soil is gone, but sometimes, the water spray can break roots too. The roots can be fragile.
After separating them, you'll have to see what root ball size you are left with. If the one that is small only has a very small root ball, you may need to give it the 2.75 gallon container all by itself. The bigger one probably has a bigger root ball and can now go into a 5-gallon container. You can water with Superthrive or Vitamin B1, both found at Home Depot, after you transplant to ease transplant shock. Add about 1 tablespoon to a gallon of water.
thanks, clare! the transplanting is complete. the root balls were more dense than i expected, and it was a little difficult to separate the smaller tree from the larger. I think a lot of its roots were broken in the process, but hopefully it will recover. I watered with Superthrive. is there anything i should watch out for? Overall, i think it went very well. I'm looking forward to watching the tree grow and bloom! thank you so much for your advice. i really would have been at a loss with out it!
Hi Allen, you are quite welcome. I'm glad it worked out. It matters not that some roots were broken because they will grow back, and the Superthrive that you used helped to ease the transplant shock. You can continue to water with a little Superthrive added to the water for the next few waterings. You shouldn't see any change in the two trees at all other than they might happily respond with some growth now that they have their own space to grow into. I recommend keeping the soil moist but making sure that drainage is good and that water is coming out the bottom after you've watered. Avoid things like catch trays and movers that block drainage.
