Q: I have six-year old, very large potted ficus and schefflera trees, about nine feet tall. I’m sure fertilizer salts have built up in the soil. I know that the best thing to do would be to repot them with new soil, or second best, to flush the pots. But I can’t physically handle these trees on my own. Is there a solution that I haven’t thought of?

A: Let’s do an in-place renewal! Multiply the volume of each pot by eight. The result is the amount of water to pour through the soil over a seven day period. Remove excess water from the plant saucers with a turkey baster. Another option is to use a vacuum cleaner hose to suck out most of the old soil and replace it with new soil