When a plant has outgrown its pot, roots may emerge through the drainage hole or crop out on the soil surface, or the plant may wilt between normal waterings. Below are some steps that you can use to repot your plants:
- Before removing it for transfer to a larger pot, moisten the soil so the plant will slip out easily.
- Set the pot on its side, place a cloth pad over the top of the rim, and holding the plant firmly, tap the edge of the pot with a mallet or the side of a hammer. Turn the pot a few inches and repeat until the soil ball slides out.
- Untwist matted roots by combing the soil with a fork. Keep the ball as intact as possible, but trim long, twisted or dangling roots. You can cut only the bottom part of the root ball by 20%.
- Use a pot that is 2 inches wider and deeper than the old one. At the bottom should be clay shards about 2 inches deep for pots 10 to 12 inches diameter, about 3 inches for larger ones.
- When the plant is set in the pot, the top of the soil ball should be 1 inch below the rim of an 8-inch pot (1/8 inch lower for each additional inch of pot diameter). Adjust to this level by adding potting mixture to the bottom of the pot, then add more mix around the sides, tamping with a stick to eliminate air pockets.
- Smooth and firm the top surface with your fingers, adding potting mixture if necessary to cover exposed roots.
- Finally, soak the plant until water seeps out the drainage hole at the bottom.
Whether or not a plant is repotted, one day it may simply outgrow its location in the house. If the plant has reached old age and displays long tired-looking stems with few leaves, the easiest thing to do is replace it with a new specimen of more manageable size.
Tip: Potting mix is a soil-less alternative to soil. It allows water to pass more freely and it does not form hard clumps like soil!
Don’t forget that Potting Mix is used to repot Indoor plants and Potting Compost/Soil (mixed with a little potting mix) is used to repot Outdoor plants! |