How To Repot A Houseplant

Repotting is an important part of keeping healthy houseplants. The best time of year to repot is in spring, before the new flush of summer growth.

How do you know that you need to repot?

• Roots protruding from the bottom of the pot
• The plant stops growing or becomes limp
• The plant is root bound

If you decide that a plant does need to be repotted this is what you do:

1. Lightly water the plant, let it dry for an hour or so, and then gently remove the plant from the pot. You can do this by turning the pot over and gently pulling the pot up and away from the root ball. It’s not a good idea to yank a plant out of its pot by the stem.
2. Gently loosen the root ball with a finger or a fork, but be careful not to cause any root damage. Cut away dead or rotted roots.
3. Get the new pot – generally you should only repot a plant up one size of pot. For example you can move from a four-inch to a six-inch pot, but not a four-inch to an eight-inch pot otherwise this will slow growth. Plastic or ceramic pots are fine, depending on your preference.
4. Add a piece of broken pot just big enough to prevent the soil escaping but allowing excess water to drain. Then add fresh potting soil directly to the pot.
5. Gently set the new plant in its new pot and backfill with soil or compost. Make sure the newly potted plant isn’t planted deeper than it was in the original pot.
6. As you’re filling in, press the soil down firmly and tap the pot gently to settle all the dirt.
7. Water thoroughly, and if necessary, add a little more soil to top it off. You should water until liquid seeps from the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.
8. If a plant is too large to repot, you can top dress the soil by carefully removing the top few inches of soil and replacing it with new compost.

Remember that many tropical plants like to be slightly under-potted, and unless you need to repot because the soil is exhausted or the plant is suffering, there’s no reason to do it early. An over-potted plant will focus on root growth at the expense of new foliage and flowers. Some plants, such as bromeliads, will almost never need to be repotted. If a bromeliad sends out mini-plants, just cut these off near the base of the mother plant and pot them up separately.

Finally, a word about fertilizing newly repotted plants. Most store-bought compost mixes have fertilizer included. In general, you shouldn’t fertilize newly repotted plants for six weeks. This will reduce the chances of burning the new root growth.