Question
I have a peace lilly its gotten so big I dont have a room to put it 4 ft high 4 ft wide is there any way to cut it back so i dont hurt the plant

Answer
Cindy,

It can be divided into 2 or 3 pots but this is not the time of year to do that. The plant is going into a semi-dormant stage due to the shorter days. The roots will not be growing. To divide it you will literally need to take a large knife or machete and cut straight down through the root ball and cut it into pieces that will just fit into 3 smaller pots. This is a plant that does not mind being rootbound. If it is in too large a pot and it is kept wet the roots will rot and the plant will quickly die. It does not need to be repotted every year. It can live in the same pot for at least 3-5 years without being repotted. The only real reason to repot it into a larger pot is if you want it to grow larger. If you do not want it to grow larger and it is already in a pot with a diameter of 12 inches or more then just remove it from the pot and use a sharp knife to remove 2 inches of roots and old soil from all the way around the root ball including the bottom. Then put 2 inches of fresh soil in the bottom of the pot and put the plant back in the pot. Then put fresh soil all the way around the root ball. If you are going to do that this time of year you need to put the 3 new plants under florescent light from 5 PM to 9 PM to give it a nice long day to reestablish it's roots so you do not end up with root rot. Generally plants should only be repotted from April 1st to July 30th and only if you want the plant to grow larger. Otherwise you should use top pruning and root pruning to keep a plant stabilized and healthy. Good luck!

Darlene