Should the root ball be dug out and possibly disturb the area around the females, or do you simply cut it near the bottom and let it be? I don't want anything rotting in the ground, but I don't want to disturb the soil either. Is this a dilemma?
no dilemma, just chop them. what you call Rotting in the ground others call composting. The roots will just decay and feed the soil. If you want to remove the root ball you can, if you have prepped your holes properly you can probably just pull up on the whole plant. But if they are close enough together that you might disturb others then I say chop for sure.
Not only that, the roots often have friendly bacteria on them. The good bacteria stay in the soil after a root dies, waiting for a new root to find them.
Thank you. They are closer than they should be. I wasn't thinking about how bushy they would become, but the removal is making room for some air and light.
Thank you. That's a relief. I was concerned they might become food for something unpleasant or would simply decay in a bad way. Total beginner here.
I learn something every time I log-in here! I never would have known about the bene-bacteria on the roots, that makes perfect sense that they would just chill in the soil til the next FEMALE roots came along! Anyway, I didn't even ponder any of that when I finally had to face the fact that my biggest plant was a male,...just pulled him out by the roots! For some reason I felt the need to document it He was a beaut!