By Wallybobs
United Kingdom 
I have a monkey puzzle tree in a terracotta pot, it has been in this pot for about 5 years now, do you think i should re pot it into a larger pot and if so what sort of potting compost/ soil mix should I use. Also the 3 bottom branches are going very brown... I think this has happened because it has been very wet recently here in Cumbria, am I right? Thanks Wallybobs
9 Aug, 2010
Answers
It will be time to put it in a bigger pot, and Dawnsaunt's recommendation of John Innes No. 3 is a good one. Eventually, though, this tree will either need to be planted in the ground (where it needs lots of room) or disposed of. Most likely the lower branches have done this because there's not enough room in the pot for roots and compost. They lower branches do go brown and die back, but usually only as the tree gets over 8 or 9 feet, or even taller - this has happened on one we moved into the ground 4 years ago, which means it's now nearly ten years old, and is about 12 feet high.
10 Aug, 2010
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I believe the bottom branches die off naturally, so maybe that's why they've turned brown, we remove ours every 2 years or so.
I may be corrected on this but if you are repotting it into a permanent pot, I'd set it in John Innes No.3.
Watch out for those spikey branches though.
9 Aug, 2010