When Is the Right time to Repot a Houseplant?

Here are some helpful guidelines for knowing if a plant is outgrowing its pot and is ready for a new one:

1. Spring and summer are the best time to repot plants. By repotting during the growing season you give your plants the best possible route to recovery from the stress that repotting causes. repotting plants during fall and winter can be done and should work out fine but the thing to keep in mind is this is a time for slowed growth so recovery will take longer and may cause more stress to the plant.
2. Has the plant been in the same soil for more than two years. If so it is time for fresh soil. If you are not seeing the other signs listed below then you can place the plant back into the same pot with fresh soil or change to a new pot of the same size.
3. Are you seeing a number of roots have started to grow out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot---not one or two---so much so that the drainage is starting to get blocked? If you are seeing this it is time to graduate to a pot that is two-inches larger than the current one.
4. Does the soil dry out quickly? If you're watering one day and the next day the plant is dry again it is possible that your plant has outgrown the pot. If you gently pop the plant out of the pot and you see a mass of roots but not much soil it is time to increase your pot size by two inches.
5. If the top of the plant is heavier than the pot/soil combination which causes the plant to tip over regularly it is time to increase your pot size by two inches.
6. On watering day if the water just runs straight through the pot---it is not absorbed by the soil---it is likely time for a larger pot. When you remove the plant from the pot you will see why this is happening---there are more roots than soil and its time to increase your pot size by no more than two inches.

Here is some helpful information on repotting if it is time:

http://www.costafarms.com/get-growing/news/repotting-houseplants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRCiKuzwG_0