Repotting indoor plants is critical for your green friends’ overall health and growth. After a while, plants outgrow their containers and struggle for space, causing root congestion, depletion of nutrient supply, and slow filtering. Repotting an indoor plant pot is an important opportunity to give your plant a clean start by providing more space, fresh soil nutrients, and checking on the health of its roots. This not only helps to increase the plant’s growth but also gives it an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Here, we delve into the basics of repotting indoor plants and break down the ultimate why behind this essential part of plant care. When to Repot indoor plant pot and Why We discuss repotting when plants exhibit signs of root-boundless, stress, stunted growth, or little soil usage.
We will also go over how to choose the right pot size, what kind of soil to use, and how rough handling can harm plants during repotting. We will go over each process of how to successfully repot indoor plant pot, which includes a method of softly removing the plant from its old pot, root trimming if necessary, and then finally positioning it in the new container. On top of that, we might even give you a few tips to care for your plant after repotting so it can adjust nicely to its new environment. If you have a favorite houseplant in need of repotting indoor plant pot or are refreshing your collection, the information from this guide will get you on track for undertaking this important chore with confidence and skill to maintain those indoor plants that fall within your home.
Why Repotting Matters
Why should I repot my plant? Yes, you should repot the indoor plant pot. In the grand scheme of things, every houseplant becomes once a natural process, since all plants grow! One of the reasons why indoor plants outgrow their containers over time and become root-bound is because all that peat covered in plastic (no matter how lovely it looks to my eyes) doesn’t provide enough fresh air for the roots, leaving us with a more or less solid lump filled with salad! Replanting the plants allows them more space to grow and fresh soil. It lets you control root rot and all the other nuisances that come with ancient, unyielding compaction in a garden bed.
When to Repot
Time to Repot Indoor Plant Pot: During the active growth season, most species of plants are best repotted in late spring or early summer (late April through June). Although this is the case, plants are quite resilient at that stage and will recover quickly from transplant shock. The dormant season (late fall to early winter)—when plants are less likely, in comparison, to regenerate—should not be the time of your reporting.
Choosing the Right Indoor Plant Pot
You must choose an indoor plant pot size carefully if you are going for repotting. One of the most common mistakes is to choose a very large planter. A root ball, however well-sized for a container it fits in, planted into too large of a pot can keep in moisture, and roots may not be able to draw up water adequately through so much soil (again leading back to over-watering and/or root rot). Make sure to search for a pot 1-2 inches greater than the one currently in. The bottom of your new indoor plant pot must have holes for the excess water to flow out and not sit below. You can find more information about the right indoor plant pot here.
Preparing for Repotting
Make a Space Start preparing the items you may need to help build all this. You will need:
A good rule of thumb is to use a pot with holes in the bottom so that excess water can run out.
For the new potting mix, make sure to use the correct kind (succulent mix for cacti and orchid mix for unusual).
Trowel (small shovel): Handle Soil
Water: Pre-soaking the soil before repotting
Hand pruners We will thin out the worst of damaged roots and leaves.
A watering can (to water the plant after repotting).
Steps to Repot Indoor Plant Pot
1. Day Before Water Your Plant (or 2 days before) Roots have more success in surviving the move with much less damage if you keep your soil moist, and it makes moving the plant out easier.
2. Always Begin with a New Pot: Add some new mix to your next container. This will be enough to lift the potted plant root ball as far as you want it.
3. Step One: Extract the Plant. Carefully remove your plant from its current container. If stuck, tape the sides of the pot or a small trowel it from the edges. Be careful as you pull, so that the roots are not broken.
4. Inspect the roots: Check for any rots or physical damage to the roots. Healthy: roots are white to light tan and firm. Trim any brown or mushy roots with garden snips.
5. Free the Roots: If they are circling or bound up tight, work carefully with your fingers to help loosen them. This forces the roots to grow out into cooler soil.
6. Place the Plant: Move your plant to the center of its new home. Layer the soil in your pot so that by the time you bottom out, your plant can sit comfortably on top, then move to match it as best as possible. A plant placed too deep in the soil can die, so do not put the root ball any lower than 1 inch below the pot lip.
7. Top with Dirt: Put new potting soil around the base and gently compact it to remove air spaces. Ensure the soil is level with (not mounded over) the top of the root ball.
8. Fully water will dry the soil: Filling air pockets after replanting your geranium. Water drains out of the holes, and that is it.
9. Best Place: After replanting it in a spot where light should be indirect, if possible, keep it out of the direct sun during the first day or so after you repot.
Post-Repotting Care
These next couple of weeks are crucial to your plant’s progress, so keep an eye on it. This is how you can give time to your plant to get already settled in:
NO FERTILIZERS AT ALL. Once rescue has taken place, do not fertilize for a month. The plant will likely be satisfied with the nutrients from its new home at first. Fertilizer may burn plants if used before the plant produces its first true leaves.
Water: Check the plant; is it too dry? If you recently repotted these plants, or they are simply larger than when purchased, additionally scheduled and intensely watered as normal.
Stress Flags: If the plant begins to sag (droop) or shows yellow leaves, these are signs of stress. These originated from the plant’s struggle to acclimate. If you see the symptoms, adjust your watering schedule accordingly and address other problems.
Root-pruning, where necessary: If you are removing a lot of roots, then something else likely needs pruning. Pruning will maintain the root-to-shoot ratio, protecting the plant from shock.
Repotting indoor plants does not need to be a traumatic event for your prized green friends. If you choose an indoor plant pot well, prepare everything in advance, and follow the correct steps, most will experience pure shock as little as possible. Plant health and growth also depend on this, so for every plant you bring home from your nursery, have that vacuum cleaner standing by. Be patient and methodical, and then eventually your plants will perform better in the new homes. Read more about repotting the indoor plant pot here.
Most Viewed
Latest Articles
