We have had a Pieris plant in a terracotta planter { similar to the one above ..... I forgot to take a before photograph } and it has been in that pot for about 25 years ! I think my Dad bought it for us. Over the last few years it has not performed well . It used to produce hundreds of tiny, white bell-like flowers in the Spring but I think we had about three this year. As the builder will be starting in a week or so, & as it is
standing next to the conservatory, I thought I should get it out of the pot and put it in the garden to see if it will do any better. I also didn't want to break the pot as, a terracotta pot of that size would probably cost over £100 now.
I am always full of great ideas that nearly always turn into major projects !!!
It took me two days to get that bloody Pieris out of that pot !!! It was stuck so fast it just wouldn't budge. Usually, when you dig around it, it will gradually start to wiggle a bit ...... I dug and dug and there wasn't the slightest movement. I went at it with a little hedge trimmer that I use to trim the yew topiary ..... still stuck fast ! Then I used a small saw ..... nothing. I gave up after that on Day one ..... I was knackered. After a couple of hours of sawing and digging on Day 2 , it finally started to wiggle a tiny bit and, after yanking and yanking ..........
..... it was released !!!!!
I have planted it in the garden but, after all the trauma it had to endure, it might not survive but, we shall see.
It was a Herculean task which required a great deal of energy and effort ..... I'm not sure why I bothered now as my arms ache { especially the one I broke } and, it probably won't survive but, at least I saved the pot !!!
XXXX
Oh, I do hope it survives. It deserves to after being stuck in a pot for 25 years! XXX
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, your shrub was very tightly root bound inside the pot. I'm surprised the roots did not crack the pot. Saving the pot like you did was miraculous. I have some similar shrubs on my property and the deer occasionally eat them down to wood stalks (just like your shrub) and within a year new leaves and small branches appear. My experience is, you can not kill these shrubs. Also, they like acid soil.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few hairline cracks Susan but nothing terrible. I'm hoping its done it good and it will like it in the ground !!! I'll keep you posted ! XXXX
DeletePlants which have lived so long in a pot a) wither and b) cling stubbornly to their pot (as a lot of people do - when one asks why they are not moving in Germany you here "One doesn't relocate an old tree" (mind: I do not believe that).
ReplyDeleteSo I wish your Pieris plant good luck - otherwise you at least have a beautiful big pot and can plant something new which hope- and gratefully will give you more than three white blossoms :-) XXXX
"you hear" of course, typo
DeleteSometimes we lose plants don't we Britta ? ..... it's all part of gardening. It had to be taken out of the pot as it wasn't looking well so, it will either die or flourish and, as you say, I now have a big pot to plant up. XXXX
DeleteYou did a great job….I hope it wil survive…🍀🙏🍀 love Ria
ReplyDeleteThanks Ria ..... watch this space for a plant update !!! XXXX
DeleteI had to do the same recently with a Pheonix Palm. The roots had exited from the hole underneath the pot, and the whole thing was completely trapped. It would have been easier to simply smash the pot.
ReplyDeleteAll part of gardening isn't it Cro ? It would definitely have been easier to smash the pot but I'm glad I saved it ! XXXX
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