Root prune Dwarf Azaleas?
By Bigbumblebee
Cornwall,
United Kingdom 
My two Dwarf Azaleas need re-potting and I would like to put them back in the same pots if possible. Would it do them any harm to cut back some of the the roots, as at the moment they are pot-bound.
17 Jun, 2009
Answers
It would be better to wash off most of the old soil, clean the pot and pot up in a fresh erica compost. Cutting the roots may distort top growth.
17 Jun, 2009
This is a skilled job, and we all take a risk when we do this as amateurs. We did cover it on one of my courses, but I'm not confident about doing it, though I have done it on some of my own plants and risked it. some survived, some didn't. The other option is to soak the root balls, then tease out the soil (if that's possible) so that you end up with a mass of roots and not much soil (this will naturally damage some of the roots anyway) and repot in fresh compost. But if they're potbound, you might find it's just a solid mass of roots.
17 Jun, 2009