I live in So. Florida. I have a desert rose that is about 5-6 yrs old in a pot with a western exposure. The plant is root bound in a expensive Talavera pot that is bulbous in shape. I can't transplant without either breaking the pot or chopping the plant out of the pot.
Neither of these are options, unless you have a idea like running a knife around the inside edge of the planter at a narrow spot to pull the plant out. I don't know if that will cause too much damage???
The second problem with the plant is that up to a month ago the plant looked terrific & was producing beautiful red flowers. It was attacked by a bunch of orange colored caterpillar looking insects with black hair. I sprayed with Bayer's Natria insect & disease & mite control spray that kills caterpillars & the insects are gone. The caterpillars had attacked the leaves & sucked the nutrients out & left tk
he leaves on the plant almost transparent & brown. Today when inspecting the plant, there are no insects but the plants branches are very bare & leaving me to think maybe a serious pruning is called for. I fertilize this plan using Sunniland 8-4-8 fertilizer for gardenias & azaleas. It seemed to thrive on it
Please pass on any suggestions-- Thank You

Is it possible to soak the container in water, to soften the lower part inside, so you can gently tug the plant out. Then let the plant air dry thoroughly, so the roots that may have gotten injured as you pull it out can dry out and heal properly.

Remove all the dried out leaves, clean it up. At this time of the year my desert rose is just dormant, either with leaf or no leaf. So I just let it be, no watering, no fertilizing till it wakes up again in mid Spring, where I can resume all the fertilizing or repotting as needed.