where are you.. and is this the proper time to do this ... here is a good planting guide .....

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

i would not try to split the plant into individuals ... it is not an annual or perennial ...

no doubt it could be done ... but it will severely stress the plant ...

what is your native soil .. i would not bare root it ... its not usually necessary with shrubs ... but i would do some root pruning to reduce severe winding of roots if its been in the pot too long ...

if your soil is very different.. than the media in the pot.. let us know.. and we can discuss that ...

you might find out.. if you can root your own cuttings ... if you want or need more plants ...

ken

Hey, thanks for responding.

I’m visiting the folks who’re living in Dubai (my prior stays/forays here have been limited to container growing). Daytime temps hover around the low 80s this time of year; it’s so-called “growing season.”

Location’s not insignificant. For one thing, there’s no native soil to speak of (rubble notwithstanding) here. So we’re talking all-out manufactured topsoil... tends to involve a mixture of sand and various amendments.

Never really gone all out re bare-rooting actually, but certainly prefer splaying/piecemeal root-pruning. Peat’s almost always on the crappy end of the spectrum, but I ought to keep in mind what you’ve written re the fact that shrubs don’t really call for that sort of manhandling. I suppose a look at the rootball’ll give me a better vantage re potential interface shenanigans.

Is this a common way of growing potted shrubs btw? I’ve only seen individually potted Murrayas before, and I’m trying not to take the good nurserymen’s reassurance that they can be planted bunched up like this at face value... especially when I’m unfamiliar with the species/its habit.

That being said... I hear you re stressing the plant out. Do you suppose growth’ll just have to be kept in check once the 3 cuttings mature? The link you provided mentions “expected mature size” which is why I was (am?) on the fence about how to go about things. The suggested spacing when planting multiple Murrayas seems to be 1.5-2’... so if I’m dealing with 3 potentially full-sized Murrayas here.. something seems off.

Thanks again for the feedback.

These are often used as hedging plants here so they don't seem to mind being crowded together. They can get quite tall, up to 7 metres. But most people prune them to keep them more manageable.

As you said, the plants might separate when you take them out of the pot, you'll only know when you try. You can spread them out if they do separate, if not they should still be okay together. Then you'll have what looks like a multiple trunked small tree.

Apologies for the late reply, didn’t notice your post.

Went ahead and planted it/them as a trio (bit too much root overlap to deal with).

Really appreciate the rundown. Bit of a load off actually... knowing‘s half the etc.

Thanks