Question
Hi there I have a stunning Dracaena tricolor which i need to repot, but am worried that I might kill the poor thing off!  I have had the plant for about 9 years and it is about 2 metres tall.  It lives in my living room which is a very bright airy room and seems to be doing really well there.  It is currently in a round pot which has a diameter of 32cm and the reason why I need to repot is that the roots are now outside of the pot.  Please can you tell me when or more to the point how to repot without harming the plant? Look forward to receiving your valuable tips.  

Answer
Viki,

This is not really the best time of year to repot any plants. In fact I suggest that for now you trim the roots that are coming out of the drain hole off and postpone the repotting until after April 1st. Right now the days are getting shorter so plants are not growing as much, especially the roots, in April the days are longer and the plants go into another active growing season, that is the time to repot.

When you do repot you should not go to a pot with a diameter more than 6-7 cm larger than the pot it is in now. To large a pot will keep the plant too wet and cause root rot. I also reccomend using a good quality potting soil and adding additional perlite(it is white and looks like styrofoam pellets but it is a volcanic product that provides better drainage and more air pockets for the roots to breath) at a ratio of 3 parts potting soil to one part perlite. Be sure your new pot has good drainage holes with a drain tray under it that you can easily empty if you need to. I absolutely do not reccommend self watering pots, they tend to keep most plants too wet and cause root rot. It sounds lie you do not need any help with care. Have a good day! Good luck with the repotting.

Darlene