Home»House Plants»General Houseplant Care
Question : I’ve go down the “ repot theatre plants ” route before . It should be mere , but whenever repot a plant life , they never seem to do well afterward .
I ’m not indisputable if I over - green goddess , over - water , or over - fertilize . Maybe all three ! How large of a heap should I use when repot indoor plants?Caden , Chicago , Ill
Photo Credit: Instagram @botanical_babee
result : Caden , I ’m not a big supporter of repotting theater plant . Many times , this process causes more problems than it helps .
It sounds like you ’ve experienced that !
Read : When Should I Repot plant After Buying ?
Before Repotting, Ask These Plant Questions
The fact remains that there is a time when to repot mansion plants , but there is a right manner and a wrong way of life .
Read on to learn more about how to repot a plant life . This guest clause is byClem Cirelli , Jr. of Summit Plants & Flowers , Inc. , Springfield , NJ .
Repotting House Plants Tips & Essentials!
Although some of you would n’t recognize it to look outside your window , Spring is on the way ! To your indoor plants , the lengthening days are a input to new growth , both above and below the soil surface .
So you may require to start prepare your potting bench for that annual Rite of Spring….houseplant repotting . To help you forefend the pitfalls of that ordeal , here are some tips to keep in mind :
When Repotting Plants Use Pot of Appropriate Size For Plant:
Potting up a 6″ pot into a raw 14″ pot ( where the 14″ concern to the top inside diameter of the pot ) is a surefire way to doom that industrial plant to the compost heap prematurely .
The new pot should be 1 - 2″ large in diam and deepness than the pot it ’s living in now , so the radical have way to grow , but the soil can dry at an acceptable charge per unit and not remain waterlogged for days or weeks after tearing .
Repotting Plants: Drainage Is the Most Important Factor
Drainage is the most crucial gene for potted plants ’ wellness ; that does n’t mean two inches of stiff pot fragment or gravel in the bottom of the pot ! That ’s a no - no …
This just advance the soil visibility ’s wettest geographical zone closer to your plant ’s attender root . It radically increases the risk of root rot due to lack of oxygen penetration into the rootball .
Just try out this experiment if you are n’t yet a believer :
Soak an ordinary washcloth in H2O , hang it up on a clothesline or shower drape rod to dry out , and point out which part of the material stay wettest longest … it ’s the BOTTOM , of path ( see : Newton ’s Law of Gravity ) .
Your plant ’s soil does on the button the same thing . So , deep is better , within grounds , and always in symmetry to the size of the plant life ’s root ball .
Drainage holes in the pot are substantive , but if you must put it into gorgeous decorative blossom pots used as a cache hatful , then engraft your plant life into ordinary plastic pots or clay pots .
check that the pot is slightly smaller than that container , and empty any drain body of water after each watering .
NEVER have container plants stand in supernumerary water for more than a few hours , or you WILL kill them !
Choose the Right “Soil” for Your Specimen:
Remember , “ one sizing does NOT suit all ” .
If you are repot a heavy - root plant , such as a Rubber Tree , many Dracenas , or Yucca , habituate a coarse - textured soil with fairly with child particles of drainage textile , such as vulgar Perlite or lava sway ( about 1/4″ or so particle size ) .
This permits just drainage and rootle development and reduces the chance of overwatering due to a slow - dry out medium .
Conversely , fine - rooted plants , such as fern , African Violets , begonia , and many other smaller houseplants , do best in OK - textured soilless mix or potting mixture composed of milled peat moss peat moss , vermiculite , and “ horticultural grade ” perlite .
This holds moisture a mo longer for their more “ sensitive ” tooth root and prevents desiccation ( drying up ) in the modest spate we usually grow them in . More on what to use fordrainage in pots .
Tease the Roots
When repot , “ tease ” the roots out of their cylindric rootball shape . This will help to bucket along the increase and branching of unexampled root into the refreshing medium .
you may do this by curve away any large coils of roots that may have raise around the bottom of the previous pot , or but tally the rootball vertically with a shrill knife in several spot , cutting into the rootball about an column inch as you slice from top to bottom .
Set the rootball atop a couple of inches of fresh potting mix that you have poured into the bottom of the raw corporation , filling in and softly but firmly tamping down the mix as you go until the soil is even with the top of the plant life ’s original rootball and about 1/2″ to one inch below the rim of the fresh pot .
Give the freshly pot plant a good drink . direct the plant in good , filter luminosity from direct sunlight for the first couple of week , and stand back and watch it grow !
