I have another mystery plant here that needs ID. It was given to me in this pot -- a plastic pot stuck inside of a ceramic pot with no drainage holes!! I don't know what damage, if any, is occurring underneath. Should I risk repotting it now? I'd hate to damage it because it looks pretty healthy, but on the other hand I don't want it to risk rot. Please help. Thanks.
i agree with d. marginata as the id. it needs for the soil to dry out (in between waterings) so you really do need to provide some drainage. does the plastic pot have holes in the bottom? if so, you can leave it in that and put some stones in the bottom of the ceramic piece so that the plastic one is raised up a bit and then the excess water has somewhere to run off to. i'd check the ceramic pot an hour or so after watering and remove any water that's collected in the bottom. if the plastic part does not have holes, you can either replace it with one that does or make some holes in the bottom of it. it looks nice and healthy, so, something is right about the potting situation!! before doing anything with the pot, let it get situated in your home first - after about 3 weeks, you can start thinking about doing something with the pot.
Thanks for the ID and advice..... I don't know if the plastic pot has holes in the bottom. It's really jammed tightly in the ceramic piece. If only there's a way to remove the plastic pot, then all my worries would subside and I could sleep well. ;)
see if you can get a long knife between the plastic and the ceramic and then move it all the way around the perimeter to loosen the plastic from the ceramic. then you may be able to work the plastic in a bit (bend it) so that you can get some purchase on it to pull it out of the larger pot. if you can't manage that it's possible that it's a bit root-bound or that it's just too tight a fit. if that's the case, i'd take the knife and run it around the inside of the plastic - between the soil and the plastic - to loosen the soil/root ball from the plastic. gently tip the plant over so that you can softly ease the plant out of the container (spread some newspapers on the floor to catch soil). i'd say you'd do best with someone to help you do that as you'll want to support the plant so that it doesn't get damaged during the process. once you've got it out, you can look at the roots - cut off any that are damaged, do a bit of loosening them up and repot it into a larger container.
SUCCESS!!! ....... Thanks so much, Joclyn. I followed your advice and was able to pull the plastic pot out of the ceramic pot. (It wasn't easy, but with enough bending and persistence I was finally able to do it.) I put stones at the bottom of the ceramic pot, so the plant is now elevated. I found that the bottom of the plastic pot is all roots. The roots are growing out of the plastic pot and up the sides. It really needs to be repotted. It's currently in an 8" pot. Should I repot it into a 10" pot and should I repot it now or wait until spring? Helen
i'm glad you were able to get the plastic pot out of the ceramic one!! and good thinking with the stones to elevate it!! if you've had it for more than a month, i think it would be okay to repot it now - especially if the roots are coming out the bottom. a 10 inch pot should be fine. you may want to go to a 12 inch or a deeper 10 inch if you see that it's thoroughly rootbound (once you take it out of the plastic). if it is really rootbound, gently loosen the roots up a bit before putting it in the new pot. i'd also keep very little of the original soil, too.
