Do you save old pots? Especially old terracotta pots - I do, until the narrow crack widens and the need to repot is essential. The old plumbago - a present from a friend of many years had weathered the winter outside in the shelter of the wall, where any winter sun would have warmed it. It looked dead but the stems were still flexible. A diligent picking over of all the browned leaves revealed new leaf buds pushing through. Lifting the pot to a table to do this job edged the crack of many years standing to open further.
We brought a new pot from Archers Low Nursery just as they were trying to close on a sunny spring day. Sarah, ever helpful and accommodating allowed us a late purchase of a lovely square brown pot.
The plumbago was reluctant to give up its position in the cracked pot without some persuasion. With hammer in hand OH dealt with it swiftly - almost too swiftly for me to take a picture!
This is not a conventional way to repot a plant. There were several reasons for the destruction of the pot. One we had no crocks left - now we have enough to last us years. Two I feared damaging the plumbago if I tapped it out the usual way and three I wanted to pick over the topsoil carefully before the muscari bulbs tumbled out. And apart from that it just wouldn't budge from where it had grown happily for many years.
I've sometimes bought plants (at bargain prices) which have outgrown their pots. The roots come through the bottom and would be seriously damaged unless I cut the pot to pieces. Why is it so hard to do that with a plastic pot? It's not like I'm short of them, or they're more valuable than the plant.
ReplyDeleteMaybe gardeners are just reluctant to throw anything away, if it can possibly be reused in some way?