mjsponies said:Well Phil sure looks happy. I doubt you'll be able to coil the bottom part of the stem around. Have you tipped it out of the pot to see just how deep the roots go, if it's root bound and to what degree ?
Have you thought about taking a top cutting and rooting it ? It would encourage to send out new shoots from the bottom, plus you could plant the cutting once it's rooted back in the pot and it would fill out the pot more.
Thank you for the advice! I'm more of an outdoor gardener and anything that survives indoors is by pure luck. Poor Phil is far from home here in Alaska, and yet he's done so well.
I just dug with my hand and the roots don't even start until about six inches down in the pot. I remember that when I repotted him a couple of years ago, I was surprised that he wasn't root-bound.
I have thought about cutting the top off, but I'm afraid of killing the part which is doing so well! It's even blooming up there!
Would I just put it in the soil perhaps with some rooting hormone on the cut stem? I made a vague attempt at trying to get some of the air roots to become ground roots by wrapping some wet sphagnum moss around the stem, and putting clingwrap over it, but I found it hard to keep it wet and I didn't notice any new growth. Will the air roots function as ground roots if I cut the stem with a good amount of them and cover with soil?
Thank you again!
