How to deal with very packed Spathiphyllum roots when repotting?

Question

I have a bad case of Spathiphyllum abuse... I knew it was due for repotting, but I didn't think it was that bad.

I need advice as to what to do with the roots. Should I just try to separate them a bit, or do I have to cut? Or maybe just do repot as is?

It's doing good in general. It started to have dried leaf ends, so I'm trying to make it happy again. When I look at the bottom, there is zero soil. Only packed roots.

I'd rather play safe with this guy...

Answer 1

I've done this with members of the aroid family of which spaths are members.

• soak the rootball before repotting to the leaves have a good supply of water
• take sharp knife and cut the bottom one quarter of the roots off
• using the same sharp knife make a series of vertical cuts around the root ball and remove and loose roots
• repot in a pot of one size larger with a tropical plant potting mix
• water in the newly repotted plant
• provide bright diffuse light until it's settled in (~one to two weeks)
• do not fertilize at this time.

Answer 2

Alternatively to the other answer, Spathiphyllum can be divided - this is where a sharp bread knife comes in handy. I'd cut the rootball in half and pot up both sections separately, keeping it well watered till it recovers. If you don't want two plants, pot them both anyway and bin one if it's not growing as well as the other.