How to Deal with Terribly Root Bound Plants - Awesome Osmanthus - Removing Old Azalea

How to Deal with Terribly Root Bound Plants - Awesome Osmanthus - Removing Old Azalea - In this video I remove a large old azalea and replant with a Osmanthus fragrans 'Fudingzhu'. I also cover how to deal with very root bound plants.

[julieh]

I planted 5 standard variety osmanthus that are young, but the minute they were planted they started putting on inches and inches of new growth. I can’t believe how fast they grow! Their fragrance is the best in the world, in my opinion!

[tangents]

My husband popped in and watched a bit saying Man, this guy's knowledgeable! Yes, he surely is.

[karenwestby-gibson]

Never knew that about the copper inside a pot. That’s good to know.

[HoosierDaddy_]

Another great video! Every video you post, I learn something. Especially how you treated those roots. It's important to show people how to do that vs just tell them. Thanks for all you do.

[kso]

Never knew about the usage of copper inside potted plants. Interesting! I do the same pruning and teasing-out procedure to break up root-bound plants. I keep on saying this, but I must purchase one of those handy-dandy trenching shovels! 😁

[trace]

Nice seeing this, similar to the way I was taught, and no bags of Biotone in sight.

[TomokoAbe_]

While shoveling like you did, I also had to use an ax to remove my azaleas -- those roots were awfully thick and could not be cut with a shovel. They were also decades old.

[julieh]

On Jim’s recommendations I have bought, as screening plants, the following: Roman Candle podocarpus, FL illicium, Sunshine ligustrum, Carolina Midnight loropetalum, osmanthus fragrans, Leann Cleyera, Coppertop viburnum, Jane saucer magnolia, Little Gem magnolia, Juliet Cleyera (my new all-time favorite Cleyera) and many, many more. They are all growing amazingly fast and are SO beautiful. Listen to Jim and you won’t go wrong! 👍😊
(And, “Plant it high and it won’t die, plant it low and it won’t grow.” So true, thanks, Jim!)
(Edited to fix ligustrum to loropetalum. I knew it started with an “L”! 😆)

[susanbaker]

Thanks for this "basics" planting video. No matter what level of home gardener you are, you can always learn or be reminded of some little basic that you need to re-incorporate into your planting routine. For me: Soil conditioner. I forgot about soil conditioner. After my last bag, I didn't rebuy. Heading to Home Depot today to pick up a few bags. Thanks Jim!

[AJsGreenThumbLLC]

Good old fashioned gardening Jim along with all the nuggets of wisdom. Thanks so much for this one!

[salimorton]

Holly sure is a gentle garden dog. Hope she's doing well. Thanks for the tip on root bound plants.

[SnappyR]

Thanks for this - I did that kind of surgery on my $10 crabapple from Lowes that was pitiful - I gave it a good planting after the surgery and it sprung back to life immediately....I just wanted it to live so it will be fun watching it grow now - even if it's slow 🙂

[Les-OZZYTHEOSCAR]

That's a great tip for a root bound plant, thanks Jim

[newyorkny]

I’ve been wanting to remove the only Azela I have for a few years now. It’s underplanted to a Burning Bush. It basically swallows it during the end of Spring / Summer in this particular bed, growing wide. Thank you for speaking to the root ball when dining it up.

[GardenBelle]

Fudingzhu Osmanthus selling out everywhere since this video aired this morning 🙌🤣just ordered two of them!! Great video Jim👩🏻‍🌾

[FrediOlson]

I have been doing that root pruning technique for many years, especially on my houseplants that I can't pot up into a larger pot; sort of like you do with Bonsai. Wish I could grow the Osmanthus in my zone 7a but I don't really have a suitable microclimate to put one in. Thank you for sharing, oh, and "hi, Holly"!

[schaeferlawncarepropertyma]

A good quality chopstick (not the cheap free ones the take out places throw in your bag) works wonderfully to detangle roots.

[Jay-xetz]

The edgeworthia is HUGE now, looks great!! How was flowering last year? Can you remind us of the cultivar?

[estherfan]

I purchased an osmanthus last year, and it has been thriving in a 2.5-gallon pot. I reside in zone 9b. However, for reasons unknown, it recently began showing signs of browning at the tips, starting from the lower leaves. Even the new growth is exhibiting this . Concerned, I decided to repot it into a 5-gallon container, 5 days ago, discovered that it was completely root-bound. Despite its apparent health, I refrained from trimming any roots at the time. I just saw your video, now, I'm considering whether I should follow the same treatment you have demonstrated to other root-bound plants for this osmanthus. It has been consistently blooming with small white flowers since I acquired it, and I have grown quite fond of it. The persistent browning of the leaf tips has been a cause for worry. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. thank you so much.

[dawnmitchell]

Heidi! 😍 Glad to have it confirmed that I do my digging up process like the pros! I have very heavy clay with lots of trees around, so sometimes I perforate my cuts first with a garden fork if I can't get the shovel in.