Do it now. When roots come out of pots crowding is already in an advanced state.

Thank you! Good to know. I've googled for hours and it seems like there are some hard and fast rules about when it's ok to repot so I wanted to make sure I wasn't breaking some kind of plant law by doing it this late in the year. Someone elsewhere mentioned that these could possibly be "feeler roots" coming out of the drainage hole due to water sitting in the pebble tray which happens sometimes, even if the plant itself is not rootbound. Is this a viable explanation? I tried lifting it out of the pot to take a look at the roots and it wouldn't budge a millimeter...

Shouldn't JP wait til after the blooms? Repot now would likely kill the bloom, no? Am so jealous (in a friendly way), I've never been able to keep one indoors. I love their fragrance!

If it wouldn't budge at all, that is a clear sign it is rootbound now. I'd repot.

While there are more ideal times to accomplish certain tasks, just as there are with inground gardening, you need to do what is best for the plant when you need to do it. I have repotted rootbound container or houseplants at all times of the year, either when newly purchased or when it was obvious they needed attention.

Just so ya know.......there are NO hard and fast plant rules :-) You do what you need to do when you need to do it!!

It will be easy to take it out of the pot - I do it all the time - without breaking the pot. The trick is to release it from the sides. For this I use a narrow flexible knife or a spatula and run it down the sides all around. And a couple of good whacks at the bottom and pull out the plant holding the base of the stem. At the same you may need to push the plant up through the bottom drain hole. It may take a couple of tries.

Roots coming out of the bottom is not always an indication it is root bound. Those roots came out because you have a wet pebble base below the pot. Happens all the time even when I am doing a cutting. I do my cuttings under humidity domes. Even though a cutting will produce a couple of roots eventually they start poking through the bottom since there is always a bit of water in my trays.

Since a clay pot is porous and has rough texture, soil and roots tend to "stick" to it. That is what makes it harder to take root ball out - unlike a plastic pot. It is not necessary the plant is root bound but still likely.

Thank you for all the comments. I'm definitely not opposed to cracking some pots :)

I've read on multiple sites that stephanotis floribunda actually like to be root bound and will not flower unless it is... I've had this plant for over 5 years and it has only started flowering in the past 2, which leads me to wonder: now that the plant is blooming, it most likely is root bound, but if this is a favorable condition for this particular plant, should I still repot?

It has put out at least 20 new leaves and 12 flowers just in the last month or so, so it doesn't seem to be suffering per se...

Meanwhile I also have a 4 foot tall fiddle leaf fig (2 plants in same 10" pot) with roots coming out the bottom, but that one has been struggling with stunted leaves and droopy growth so repotting to a slightly larger pot seems like a no-brainer.

Thanks, Karen S. This plant has truly taught me the the value of patience. Since you're also in NYC, you can relate to the brutal winters and often wildly fluctuating weather within the same season. The first year I had this plant I was stuck in an apt with ONE north-facing window, and it basically dropped all its leaves and I was left with a bare woody vine.

I only ever got it to sprout a few new leaves during the summer, before they would eventually fall off during the winter. This went on for a few years before I finally moved into a new apt with 6 glorious windows on both north and south sides. The steph now sits on the south side and basks in sunlight all day. The new exposure with the addition of the pebble tray and occasional misting for humidity (not that we have a problem with that, especially now in the summer) have completely turned it around! I was stunned to see the first blooms last October. Yes, October! I leave the window open on days I can stand it, even though I hate humidity, for the benefit of the plants.

If you are able to provide tons of light and high humidity, I would give it another go :)

Does this warrant an emergency repot? What's the emergency?It doesn't look like your plant is about to go down for the count. No, it doesn't warrant an emergency repot, and, if it was my plant, I wouldn't repot now unless I cut it back fairly hard. I know ideally this should be done
in spring, but will it be ok to wait the 7-8 months before then to do
so? Yes, you can wait - no problem. An emergency repot would be one that's immediately required if the plant is to remain viable. Not a scare tactic - just a fact - the plant is far more likely to succumb to the ministrations of a first time repotter than it is to root congestion between now and somewhere around the vernal equinox (Mar 21).

When roots come out of pots crowding is already in an advanced state. This can't be said with any degree of certainty. Roots are opportunists. Most growers believe roots have extra sensory perception and choose to grow toward a moisture source or where superior aeration or nutrition is found. In fact, roots grow wherever conditions are favorable and don't grow where conditions are not. If roots find the air and moisture levels beneath the pot to be favorable, they will grow there whether or not the rest of the root mass is congested.

I water most plants daily in the summer. This isn't necessarily because they need it, but the soils I use allow me to do this. It takes me about a hour to water when I do. it would take 2.5-3 hours if I had to check moisture levels of each plant. I have a 60" tempered glass table in my front garden that is supported by a very large overturned ceramic pot. The glass is textured so allows air beneath the pots as well as moisture. Some, but not all plants in pots w/o legs will have roots poking through the drainage mesh within a short period (a month?) after repotting. Whether it occurs quickly or not at all depends on species and shape of the pot bottom.

It seems like there are some hard and fast rules about when it's ok to
repot so I wanted to make sure I wasn't breaking some kind of plant law
by doing it this late in the year. No hard and fast rules, and I've seen no evidence of anyone trying to rule someone else's world. That said, there are times better than others to repot. or prune hard. As plants go through their growth cycle, their response to root work varies to the extreme. The ficus I repot today will be pushing new growth within a week. If I repot it in January. I might not see new growth until late May, and the plant will be more vulnerable in the interim period because it's defenses are closely tied to its metabolic rate. Someone elsewhere mentioned that
these could possibly be "feeler roots" coming out of the drainage hole
due to water sitting in the pebble tray which happens sometimes, even if
the plant itself is not rootbound. Is this a viable explanation? No, but it's a shining example of a horticultural myth. I
tried lifting it out of the pot to take a look at the roots and it
wouldn't budge a millimeter... OK - it's rootbound. The best response isn't to repot it now. In fact, if there was that concernthe blooms should come off. Your plant isn't circling the drain. If you have grave concerns, and you shouldn't, you can wait until the
bloom cycle ends, then "pot up" (as opposed to repotting) using ballast in the bottom of the pot to
eliminate the lion's share of excess water in the medium - unless you're
using a high quality medium that holds very little perched water. Ballast Can Make Life Much Easier. To pot-up, cut 4 vertical slits in the root mass, remove the mat of roots at the bottom of the pot if there is one, and repot into a larger pot. This will allow you to avoid all the unnecessary stress of repotting now and ensures the plant will gain a good measure of vitality that will go a long way toward ensuring a fast recovery when it's repotted.

It goes w/o saying that anyone is free to do as they wish with their plant. As usual, I'm looking at things from the plant's perspective, nearly acting as an advocate for the plant, which means the only argument would center on what's best for the plant.

Al

Thank you for your thoughtful reply, tapla. I was weary about repotting at this point since the plant is healthy and has been putting out new growth and blooms consistently in the last month or so, and also because I have read that stephanotis like to be root bound in order to bloom. I'm inclined to wait until it is done blooming to prune, and then repot in early spring.

I appreciate your advice on using ballast to combat water retention; in fact I may do this when I repot my ficus lyrata today, which is still in its plastic nursery pot from a year ago (also has roots poking out the bottom) and recently seems to be suffering from stunted and weak new growth.

Thank you for the kind words, JP.

I was wary about repotting at this point since the plant is healthy and has been putting out new growth and blooms consistently in the last month or so, and also because I have read that stephanotis like to be root bound in order to bloom. This is another example of a conflict in perspectives. No plant 'likes' to be root bound, but one reaction of a high % of plants to the stress of being rootbound is an increase in bloom profusion. The info isn't offered to make you think in a certain way or as a judgement call; rather, it's an observation that stress is always limiting. I do highly stressful things to plants every day (bonsai) or almost every day in order to increase the current or future evocative nature of the plant. If anything, I'd be far more guilty of doing something limiting than someone who purposely grows plants tight to increase bloom profusion. I also realize what I do is stressful, so I'm careful not to overdo and to allow plenty of time for recovery before subjecting the plant to subsequently stressful operations. I'm inclined to wait until it is done blooming to prune, and then repot in early spring. That's what I would do.

I appreciate your advice on using ballast to combat water retention; in fact I may do this when I repot my ficus lyrata today, which is still in its plastic nursery pot from a year ago (also has roots poking out the bottom) and recently seems to be suffering from stunted and weak new growth. Ballast in the pot bottom is an extremely effective way to wrest control of your plant's vitality from the soil you might have been battling all along and perhaps didn't even realize. We know that simple drainage layers don't work, but ballast can, in cases, be the same material drainage layers are made and arranged in a way that allows 95% + of excess water to be forced from the pot. If you know your soil is water-retentive, judicious use of ballast will make a very notable difference.

.... hope you're having a good weekend!

Al

Thank you Al for the education! I thought that was conflicting info about plants "liking" to be root bound, so this clarification helps immensely. I've had the few plants I have for several years and only recently found the time after quitting my job (temporary pre-tirement, lol) to really delve into each and learn about their specific needs, so I really appreciate your thorough, knowledgable responses. Asking people on Reddit is a crap shoot at best.

Unfortunately I read your posts about the importance of soil a little too late as I already repotted my f. lyrata into the infamous black gold... it's all that was available at my local hardware store. I did include ballast in the form of large rocks covered with similarly sized terra cotta shards (didn't have bricks) on either side of the drainage hole. I went up from a 10" plastic nursery pot to a 14" terra cotta (also all that was available). There are 2 plants whose roots balls were basically fused together and I didn't yet feel comfortable separating them. This was my first repot ever so I'll have to keep a close eye on that one and may tackle my own 5-1-1 mix come spring.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

I've noticed for years that many plants like the stress of being rootbound.. if they think they're gonna croak, they know they have to produce another generation-- thus the flowers. I once hacked the thick roots of a Wisteria that was too happy with the nitrogen in the ground and wouldn't bloom. Wouldn't ya know, it woke up, decided to reproduce, and flowers happened in the Spring. Read it somewhere.