Second Season Growing Help, Add dirt or not

Chaserlm said:

Last year I plated two rhizomes in separate pots and let each grow two bines. This will be the second growth and they are starting to break ground. My question here is this: should I add more dirt to the pots? They pots were both filled almost to the top last year but now it has compacted down to nearly only half full. Should I add more dirt? Should I just throw dirt on the top of what is already in the pots? Should I did up the plants then add more dirt and bury the rhizomes back? Would love to know what would be the best plan for these guys. Thanks for any help.

Click to expand...

corkybstewart said:

Is there some reason you can't plant them? They really will never do much if you keep them in pots. Here's a picture of MOST of a 5 year old Cascade crown in a full sized lawn chair:

Click to expand...

PapaBearJay said:

If you have larger pots, you might think about transplanting and refreshing the soil mixture. If not, then yes, if you can. Try (delicately) removing the plant, loosen or remove the dirt on the roots (don't worry if it's not perfect, just do what you can). If you do damage the roots, don't worry, that will stimulate new root growth, though the plant may suffer (albeit small) some shock, it is fairly resilient.

Whether you transplant or just freshen the soil, try to get the crown as close to the top as possible, that will allow room for roots to grow, and make it easier for the plant to dry off as its crown will be closer to the wind. If the plant is deep in the pot, that can lead to standing water, rot, etc. You don't want that.

Best!

Click to expand...

Chaserlm said:

So I couldn't find any larger pots. Home Depot only had 12" round and smaller and didn't seem able to tell me when they would have larger so I just got more dirt and used the pots I had.

Here is what it looked like with most of the dirt knocked off

The second pot had a wild flower growing in it

I planted two rhizomes in the pot

I tossed the smaller one and re-planted that larger one

And here is what I was left with

I hope they work out all right.

Click to expand...

PapaBearJay said:

Pic fail!

Click to expand...