Ideas please

I have a lilac in a 15" pot, inherited from an elderly relative. Actually I have 2 but one seems OK. It was suggested following an earlier question that a) it had a bad dose of leaf miner and b) it shouldn't really be in a pot like that.

So, one I want to plant out and one needs to be euthanised. My problem is - How do I get the blighter out of its pot??
I have tried:

• wiggling it to loosen it

• a two pronged attack, one person holding plant, one pulling on pot

• jetting water down the sides of the pot but now all I have are roots showing

• digging down the sides but there's little room for manoeuvre.

It's still in its pot......

Has anyone got a brilliant idea to help me - PLEASE!! Or do I basically have to keep poking away at it. (The tip beckons, I'm so frustrated)

 

what is the pot made of? If you really want to get it out, you may have to smash the pot, understandably if the pot is worth a lot then not that..

Is it a big plant? often I turn pots upside down and shake it, the soil comes out but so does the plant, but two people can perhaps do that..

So if you can, get someone to hold the plant by the stems, then someone holds the rim of the pot upside down and shake back and forth as hard as you can away from you, and the plant should come out.

 

Why wont it come out? Is it because its roots have escaped through the drainages holes and then swollen so its stuck fast?

 

The plant is quite tall (about three foot high) - and too big for the pot really. I think there's more root than compost but nothing has come through the bottom. I've tried the pulling/shaking trick but it won't budge. It's a plastic tapering pot about 15" in diameter and 12" high. It's nothing special but I was hoping someone on here might have a brilliant idea. Actually, thinking about what clueless said about swollen roots - would bringing it inside and letting it dry out be an option - or do the roots not alter that much? Thanks for the replies so far.

 

Bringing it inside is worth a try, as everything dries out it should shrink to a certain degree. I think your only other option is to dig the soil out bit by bit, or try and snip the roots off where they reach the edges of the pot, this shouldn't damage the plant as long as the tap root is still in one piece.