Potted plants.

Just set up my brand new 5GAL aquarium.
i was at the LFS picking up some final needs,
and i found a GIANT clump of microsword in a pot.

it was priced at 2.99 so i was like "why not".
so I'm home, and now wondering.
does a potted plant need to stay in the/a pot?
if not, how do i separate what came in the pot?
i've always used plants, but i've never had a potted
plan before. maybe this is a dumb question, though.

thanks in advance.
-Andrew

thank you two very much.
that's exactly what it's in, and yeah.
i shall embark on the tedious journey that
is separating fine plant material!

woo!