Melissa I watched a video of some one who had one just like yours! He cut the top off about a half inch from the top of the ball root, then planted it in the most shallow of dishes in only about an inch of soil! I wondered what would happen to it if he had it outside and the smallest of breezes came by? But the after shot when it was in the fancy dish for two years it looked great. As shallow as the dish was he had huge drain holes in the bottom. It seems to have worked.