Expert: nick mccann - 5/27/2008

Question
Hi there, this is a tricky one.  I have a lovely virginia creeper that has been gradually growing up over the front of my house and looks lovely.  It is planted in a half-barrel outside our front-door. The barrel however, is now rotten and needs replacing, but how do we replace it without disturbing the roots or the branches of the creeper.  Can this be done without moving the plant at all?

Answer
Hi Anne, the problem is if the whiskey barrel is rotted out, then the roots have probably permeated the underlying soil; you have to determine this first, and if this is the case, then you don't want to disturb those roots and try to contain what you can dig up, this will upset the balance of roots and crown, meaning the crown will decline with the loss of many of its secondary roots, now if this isn't a problem and you are prepared to cut back the growth over your house, then you can repot what you can dig up, the plant will live, however if you want to retain the growth over your house then your only choice is to break away the old rotten barrel and build a new square container around it (pressure treated wood) making sure to retain the soil base that is in the existing barrel, no disturbance if at all possible. If the root system is still contained in the existing barrel, then you can carefully break away the barrel and lift the entire root ball into the new container. If any of this doesn't make sense, then please don't be shy, ask me and I will clearify. Nick