I was given a beauty-berry that is completely root bound in the pot. There is also 3 plants in pot. Can I separate and transplant into pots now or should I wait till spring? I don't want to plant in ground now because I am redoing all my gardens and they wont be ready til spring. Also how far back do I cut them? Thanks for any help. Donna
Donna, Beautyberries (aka French Mulberry) is a wonderful plant to see, and it is a favorite of wildlife, too. If you can soak the root ball and gently separate the three plants to put in separate pots, you can wait until spring to plant. If you can get them separated, cut each plant back by about 1/2 to compensate for root loss (no matter how careful you are, there will be some root loss). If you see that the plants just are not going to separate without major mayhem, put the whole thing into a much bigger pot (up at least two sizes) and add soil but no fertilizer. Keep them over winter, and then plant in the spring. By then the roots should have spread out to the point where you can separate at least two plants, and hopefully all three. Beautyberries root very easily from cuttings also!
