You can cut into the root mass, but by going blindly you stand the chance of severing more than you want to. You can always use a pick or a fork and slowly tease the roots out until you can see what you're working with.

Do you have or able to get some metal chopsticks? I find those work very well.

OK .. I see. I should at least find that fat root and unravel it, huh? Easier said than done, but I'll try and report back.

Well, I stuck my finger in the middle of it all and gently pried everything apart. Most of the feeder roots tore off. The main root did too .. So, instead of cutting blindly, I ended up tearing away blindly. I would've preferred to cut, which is a process I'm familiar with. There are 5 rosettes, all with their own piece of main tap root and a few feeders. I will let them sit overnight to dry and pot them up individually in the morning.

I would use water from a hose to remove the soil, the use your hands or tools to divide the plants. It not a big deal to lose a few roots in the process. You will find a thick rhizome joining them together.

LatinLady -- like you, I would have just cut them. I've done that before and successfully. I'm not good at "teasing" roots apart. In fact, I'm going to cut a Sans up this afternoon, let it heal for a day or two, and pot up the components. But either way, I'm sure yours will do well. The plant looks pretty healthy to begin with and these guys heal fast.

Question; hypothetically what does one get if one, without cutting or separation, just puts it in a bigger pot with additional soil?

You get a plant in a clod of spent soil with new soil around it. The spent soil has built-up salt deposits, and is compacted and degraded. Separating all the roots, rinsing them completely clean and Repotting completely in a well-draining soil is always best.

Hey all. Looks like you're just a little late to the party. Maria Elena solved her own problem like 6 posts ago.

Maria Elena, nice gift & good job. I'd love to see them all potted up once you're done. I don't know which Sans it is, but it has really pretty wide leaves.

Hi, there! Yeah, the issue was about the no-give tightness of this particular one. When a big chunk of the rhizome snapped off all by itself at first gentle tug, all bets were off. In the future, I'd recommend just slicing straight down in between the pups and rinsing all the mess off.

I'm giving these away at our next beach-side plant swap. I have three boxes of stuff to take! It's going to be fabulous because it includes everything, orchids, adeniums, plumeria, C&S, fruit trees, vegetables, herbs, seeds, etc. And the group is so much like family. Soooo excited to be spending the day with them! We had one two Sundays ago for C&S only, which you can read about here:

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5371282/the-big-haul#22527714

Here's a photo of the 4 pups separated and another photo of them all potted up in 4" pots. Sorry for the low light. I added stones to hold them in place during transport. I'll be keeping the tiniest one and poor, old, super stressed and spent Mama to nurse her back to health. The rosette in the center of Mama looks promising. I'll cut off her lower leaves once she fills in a little. I used some earthworm tea on these and added a little worm castings to the soil.

ID-wise, I'm thinking it may be something along the lines Dwarf Zeylanica or Hahnii. There are some Sans experts on the C&S forum that I hope will chime in.

Maria Elena

Those look GREAT! Lucky people who will be getting them. That plant swap sounds like a good time. Could be a danger of coming home with more plants than you left with.

It's always better to cut root masses like that with a sharp, clean blade. Cleanly severed roots regenerate swiftly; root pruning is a regenerative process, just like top pruning.

Divide congested roots like that sansevieria with slicing not ripping and shredding.

You're right! Thanks for your input. It wasn't my intention, Rhizo ... It just happened that way. Next time I'll follow my instincts and use the surgical blade. I haven't worked with these much. Of course pulling it apart will rip the rhizome! Hindsight is 20/20.

Maria Elena

Tyler, you're right! Last time I went with 1 box and came back with 2! This time, I'm going with 2 boxes AND 12 adeniums. I think I'm in trouble. Come join me.

Maria Elena

Those look lovely! So healthy and well cared for. I just cut up a large Sans francisii last night and potted up 3 separate plants. (Guess I'm always better with a sharp knife than "teasing" roots apart.) I think it's gratifying to give a big or crowded plant a new lease on life via separate pots. I'm sure you will find some very grateful and happy new owners for them in your plant-swap group. They look robust and ready for new homes!