It's not in leaf yet but a few buds are ready to pop. I wanted to do it earlier but just haven't had the chance. It's still cool here in Chicago right now luckily. Should I just remove the bottom half or do I need to be more specific about what I remove? I never thought pulling that apart would be so much work....wow. The tree is back in the planter now but I can pull it and chop it more tomorrow

Scratch that question. I just noticed your link.....I see my answer. Thanks again for all your help!

Al, I took your advice. Pulled up the plant and cleaned up the roots a ton more. The only thing is this plant was so root bound that many of the roots below the plant were VERY thick. it was really like part of the tree. I could have sawed all of them off but I was afraid it was too drastic. I did clean up alot of them but I still left some of that mass and repotted. Will it hurt the plant if I chop into that really hard root mass? Do I need to do anything to the cuts I make so they heal? I think at this point I will be happy with what I did this year, let the tree live this year as is and then if needed do more next year. does that sound okay? Thanks in advance

Those thick roots are exactly the ones you need to get rid of. Leaving it the way it is will just cause those thick roots to get thicker.

Will it hurt the plant if I chop into that really hard root mass? Any time you remove living mass it's a setback, but the only way to reverse the steady decline caused by root congestion is to bite the bullet and remove it, but not necessarily all at once. In a perfect world you'd go from something like this

To this

in a single session, but for plants like yours it takes 2-3 sessions for even experienced root managers to tame.

Do I
need to do anything to the cuts I make so they heal? No. I think at this
point I will be happy with what I did this year, let the tree live this
year as is and then if needed do more next year. does that sound okay? Good idea. It's better to err on the side of caution than go all out and kill the plant. As you get more comfortable, you'll learn that how well the plant was growing before losing leaves in the fall is largely what determines how much you can safely remove.

Al

Defasio

Following Al's advice, here are some (there were more) of the roots that were cut off from a Benjamina:

Thanks for the feedback. I am on board and wish i would have just hacked off 1/4 of the root mass to begin with. I probably would have saved myself alot of time trying to clean and separate it out without damaging it.....

Al - This is a superb example of why I wish someone would write a thread; detailing the process of "Root Pruning".

I think "defasio" asked a lot of the right questions. Few people understand how root work will affect the top of the tree/plant. (Which roots correspond w/ which branches? )

I know it's not that simple, but most of the time; I feel the best bet would be to just flip a coin. Eenie, meenie, mynee, moe. Clip!

I also know... People are busy. ;-)

Rob

Been repotting like madd and a LOT going on at wrk, so little time for the fun stuff.

Al