Save my stumps?

Wulf

Wulf

Thought I'd get some group collaboration on the best route to go here.
 
Long story short, I have three plants I'd like to save that have been victims of "Unplanned, Overly Aggressive Pruning".  There's about 2-3 inches of jagged wood pointing out of the ground for each plant.  Is it best to leave them with angled spear-tips, or should I cut them flat, nearly flush with the ground, to minimize surface area of the delicate innards?
 
http://winnipegweather.com/
 
The weather over the next few days isn't enough to kill a healthy plant, but is that cold enough to damage the healing process of these plants?  Should I be digging them up with as much of the root system as possible, putting them into 5 gallon buckets, and getting them inside?  If they go inside, should they go under a light or will that dry out and damage the exposed parts?  Should I be covering the wound in any way?
 
Help me THP Kenobi, you're my only hope.
 
The plants will not regrow if you cut below the lowest nodes that are where the cotyledons (seed leaves) were. Are there any nodes left below the jagged portion?
 
Wulf said:
  Should I be digging them up with as much of the root system as possible, putting them into 5 gallon buckets, and getting them inside?
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If you do decide to do this, do not put them in a pot with outdoor dirt.
 
Dig them up, wash off the roots, put them in quality potting soil and put them under lights.
 
If you put them in pots with regular dirt, you will surely kill them if they aren't dead already. You'll have root rot within a month or two.
 
Jeff H said:
 
If you do decide to do this, do not put them in a pot with outdoor dirt.
 
Dig them up, wash off the roots, put them in quality potting soil and put them under lights.
 
If you put them in pots with regular dirt, you will surely kill them if they aren't dead already. You'll have root rot within a month or two.
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I may do this with a couple of my plants. Can I trim the roots down to put them in smaller pots? I have limited space inside. 
 
When doing a full root-wash how gentle do you have to be?  Just hose them off and trust that the main root system will survive, or am I performing delicate root surgery?
 
still not seeing anything about root washing or trimming roots. Not wanting to read 40- pages, hence the question here.  Thanks though...I'll keep digging
 
ColdSmoke said:
still not seeing anything about root washing or trimming roots. Not wanting to read 40- pages, hence the question here.  Thanks though...I'll keep digging
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Yeah, that sticky didn't show what I thought it did. I deleted the post. Somewhere around here there is an indepth photo documentary of over winter preparations that talks all about washing off the soil and putting plants in pots, but I can't find it at the moment.
 
As to your question, you need to trim the roots and foliage proportionally. I can usually get a full grown plant trimmed down enough to fit in a 2 or 3 gallon pot for the winter.
 
The soil needs to be well draining soil. That is the important part. The plants won't use a lot of water in the winter and the roots need oxygen to live. That is the reason to use new potting soil and not outdoor dirt.
 
Wulf said:
When doing a full root-wash how gentle do you have to be?  Just hose them off and trust that the main root system will survive, or am I performing delicate root surgery?
Click to expand...
 
Don't think I'd be reaching for the hose myself, less damage, less stress.
 
I've transplanted mediums a few times, and swish/finger wiggle the rootball around in a large rubbermaid full of tepid water.
 
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