Dialalia spotted leaves

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Roberta! Did you see it? I'll have to divide it with a shovel. Seriously, how would you divide it?

Aww... I have dealt with much worse. I have a Cym that is growing out of a 3 gallon (10 inch) pot with p-bulbs as big as my fist that I'm going to have to deal with once it blooms... Yours not so bad. Once you get it out of the pot and get some of the old media off, you'll probably be able to see some "logical" points where it can be divided. This one looks like the pseudobulbs are fairly small, so you can probably break sections apart, which is best. if you can't, then a very cheap serrated-edge steak knife is quite handy, if roots are totally entangled and you break a few, no big deal, it will grow more. You want at least 3 or 4 p-bulbs to a division (if they're small, 5 is better) to have strong pieces. It doesn't look like there are a lot of back bulbs, but if there are some hiding in the center and you don't need them to make the big enough divisions, you can remove them, so that the divisions fit in their new pots better. Another hint... if you let it dry out for a week or so before you attack it, it tends to be easier to work with and disentangle roots.
It looks like you can easily utilize 1-gallon pots for the divisions, you'll probably get 3 or 4.

[Dollythehun]

Thanks, Roberta! Dry, serrated knife (use those all the time), 3-4 pbulbs each. Got it!

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Thanks, Roberta! Dry, serrated knife (use those all the time), 3-4 pbulbs each. Got it!

Happy hacking...

[estación seca]

Save your hands for more important things and use an electric carving knife.

[Dollythehun]

How about a reciprocating saw? Carving knife went to Good Will years ago. Bought the saw to trim yuccas.

[estación seca]

That will work. Yuccas in Indiana?

[Dollythehun]

We are waaaay off topic. Of course, filamentosa is quite hardy. Since, as you know, they bloom from new growth, the old flowering "stem" needs to be removed. This is part of the reason they look so ratty around here. Anyway, I maintained a property with a huge number of them. So, I bought a cordless DeWalt reciprocating saw. It made short work of them. Problem solved.

[Roberta]

That Cym does not need such aggressive treatment! Hands, or a little knife should suffice. Preserve as many roots as you can....

[Dollythehun]

I think he was joking and, yes, I agree, there is no "feel" for what your'e doing with a power tool. I use a serrated knife often. Sorry to scare you. (If others are reading this what must they think?&#128562