Question

roots   QUESTION: Hello, I have a plant who is in a pot with holes at the base. Roots have began to grow thorugh the holes and are entwinning. Im thinking that when the time comes to repot the plant I will be unable to get the pot off without cutting throguh these roots (some are quite thick so this seems drastic). The plant is not rootbound- theres seems to be adequate room inside the pot- its just the issue of roots finding their way out the base.

I dont know what type of plant it is - I rescued it from a disused shop. It has umrella type leaves that droop. The leaves are green with brown edges.

ANSWER: Kenneth,

It appears to be a cyperis papyrus which love water and the roots do that. Simply cut them off now and periodically. It will not hurt the plant. It will cause it to grow more roots up in the pot. You do not want the roots underneath to grow so big around that it topples the pot. This is a plant that you can let water sit in the drain tray because in nature it is a swamp plant. It is also what the ancient Egyptians made paper out of. Most plants you cannot allow to sit in water because they are not swamp plants and the roots will rot easily. Only repot this and any other plants between April 1st and August 1st. Now the days are getting shorter and the plants slow on growing so it is not good to repot them. They go into shock easier. Nice plant. Good luck.

Darlene

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my little plant   QUESTION: Thanks very much Darlene. I had a look at some cyperis papyrus plants on the web and they seem different to my plant - although Im aware plants from the same family can sometimes look very different. Ive uploaded a clearer pic and wonder if you could confirm it is a papyrus? Its very useful for me to know how much the plant likes water, so I appreciate you giving some thought to this.

Kenneth

Answer
Kenneth,

It is not a papyrus, it is a dracena marginata. It can get quite large if planted in the ground but in a pot it usually does not get more than 6 foot tall. This plant likes sun from an east window, west if east is unavailable but east is better. It likes to dry out between waterings. Some of the largest are in desert areas in northern Africa. Outdoors it can get used to the sun but you meed to start it in a shady area and gradually move it out from under the shade so it does not get sunburned. It is also known as Dragon tree. Here is a website that you can check out: http://www.indoor-plant-care.com/plant-list/dracaena-marginata/

Good luck.

Darlene