Chris Buckland
Don’t Kill your plant, Repot it!
Just like we get tired of living in the same house after a few years, similarly our leafy friends, our houseplants need a new pot to stay healthy and grow properly.
However, repotting a houseplant might come off as a bit fiddly for some! Hence, to avoid mess-ups, we have rounded up 8 quick and easy steps on how to re-pot a plant.
But before we get to the main procedure of repotting your plant, we need to know whether your plant is ready for a new home or not, and are you equipped with everything you need for the repotting? Let’s have a look!
Do Your Plants Need a New Home?
Before you visit a plant nursery to get the required supplies, you need to know for sure whether it’s the right time to re-pot your plant or not. There are many factors that affect the plant i.e. sunlight, water, humidity, etc. You can gain information about humidity as well. Here is a complete guide on What is High Humidity and How to Increase Humidity for Your Houseplants.
Here are some sure shot signs to find out:
- Haven’t repotted it for years? For God’s sake, do so!
- Does the soil look dried out? You get the point, repot!
- Isn’t it absorbing the water? Ah, it needs a new pot
- Are roots now out of the drainage pores? Tsk, get it a new home!
- Whoops! Is the plant now too big to fit in its pot? Celebrate its birthday in a new pot!
Aside from this, if you want your plants to blossom and be radiant, you should re-pot them. But make sure you don’t stress them out by repotting them too early in the growing stage.
Also, you need special tools to carry out the re-potting process, so get them beforehand!
Essential Supplies You Need to Re-pot – Invest to Get the Best!
1. A new pot that is marginally larger and has pores.
2. A trowel set along with gloves.
3. A potting mix. Make sure to read its nutrients. You can also find reusable potting soil.
Once you have all the supplies ready, it’s time to get repotting!
Steps on How to Repot a Plant
If you think repotting a plant is a strenuous process, the following 8 steps to re-pot your plant in just 15 minutes will make you think otherwise.
1. Check the Size of Your Plant & Pot
The first thing to do when repotting your plant is to check its size. Is it outgrowing the pot? If yes, then this indeed calls for repotting. Be sure to have a faintly larger pot to give your plant enough space to grow again.
Take the measurements of the older pot and get a new pot at least an inch wider and deeper.
Be Smart: To avoid wilting of plants, getting a new pot with drainage pores will help the excess water to release.
2. Place a Filter Paper Inside
You surely don’t want to waste your soil. So, before repotting, put a filter paper in the new pot to prevent the soil from falling from the holes in the pot.
Be Smarter: Make sure to check the type of pot you are getting. Terracotta pots absorb environmental moisture. To prevent getting your plants dried up, soak the pot beforehand.
3. Add Soil to Your New Pot
Layering the new pot with new soil can provide your plant with all the essential nutrients it needs. So, before repotting the plant, put a layer of soil in the new pot and make its home ready!
Be the Smartest: Check for the nutrients before buying the new soil. Make sure to know what nutrients could be beneficial for your plant.
4. Water the Plant
To keep the root ball together and your plant healthy, make sure to water it before removing it from the old pot. Hydrate it, and make it ready for its new place!
5. Be Gentle While Removing the Plant
You need to be very careful at this stage. Keeping its root ball together, turn the pot upside down while placing your hand on top of it. You need to loosen it up, gently rotate it on both sides, and voila! Your plant will pop out!
6. Chop it, Trim its Roots, and Detangle ‘em!
The pro tip to having blossoming plants is to trim their roots. Make sure to trim the roots that outgrew the root ball. Once you are left with healthy roots, detangle them for their new home.
Detangling roots will help the plant grow outward rather than internally.
7. Place the Plant in Its New Pot
Be careful while placing the plant in its new pot. Make sure you have placed it in the center surrounding its root ball with the soil. Once you are done placing, press it gently, and it’s good to go!
8. Decorate your Pot
It’s time to be creative with the pots! Be the artist you always wanted to be. Decorate your pots. Get some acrylic paints and spill the magic!
A Quick Wrap Up!
Repotting a plant is essential and fun. Now you know How to Re-pot Your Plant and You can give your garden a new look by repotting your plants once a year. Plants need to be repotted to bloom fully.
Repotting will not kill your plants; in fact, it is necessary for their well-being. Burst all the myths today, revive your plants, and happy gardening!
