Q.ZiZi appearance maintenance
I have a very happy, very mature ZiZi that I am about to repot from a 10″H x 10″Diam pot to a 13″H x 14″Diam pot.
At any time over the course of a year, it has 3 to 5 new shoots unfurling.
Over the years, as the fronds age or become unsightly, I cut them as close to the soil/root as I can reach. But the stem stumps, 1″ to 4″, are getting gnarly and unsightly. Some of the crowns have grown over the sides of the pot. I count 33 stumps!
I want the repotting exercise to not only give it more room and health, but also to beautify it.
My questions:
What are the best practices for repotting a ZiZi?
Can I hide/bury the crowns and stumps under soil without harming them?
Can I cut them further down, without harm?
When I have freed it from the smaller pot, is there any maintenance I should do on the roots?
Scrape off as much old soil as possible by hand. Cut any roots encircling other roots at the point they make contact with hand pruners or garden shears. Cut back any black, limp and diseased roots to healthy tissue with the pruners or shears.
Cut three or four shallow, vertical slices through the sides of the root ball with a utility knife. Untangle the roots gently using a root hook or your fingers.
Position the ZZ on top of the moist soil. If the root ball sits below one inch from the lip, add more soil; if it’s closer than one inch from the lip, remove some soil. Spread the roots out as much as possible in the bottom of the pot.
Fill the area around the root ball with potting medium to the top of the pot. Don’t tamp down the medium, but allow the water to settle it naturally.
