All of my plants are next to the two spots I usually sit down. So when I have my big water cup out, I share a little with my plants and maybe pet their leafs for a second. It makes me happy to share my cuppy of water with my little plants. Apparently, this works really well and they are all growing like crazy! One of my fellas is huge now but I am kinda scared to repot though because I never done it before.
Could you maybe encircle the stem with unattached stakes, just to make sure there's something else there to help with any lateral pressure?
Sorry if this is an obvious suggestion of standard practice, but I let mine get very dry before I repot them, because it helps the dirt and roots all hold together in one tight ball, which makes popping it out and handling it a lot easier. Anybody very tall or fragile gets gently set down their side, and the pot scooted away from the roots instead of the roots getting pulled out of the pot.
You pull them out the pot? I flip the pot upside down (with my hand on the soil, fingers spread like I'm greeting a Vulcan, on either side of the base of the plant) and let it slide out with gravity, this way there's no force being applied to the plant and no chance of saving it. Dry soil like you suggested is a good trick too.
All of my plants are in pots as big as my torso right now, so yes, I have to gently tug on them once they're tipped over.
Might struggle to flip those upside down, aye