Materials Needed:
- Potting mix suited to the plant
- Pot
- Water
- Gloves
- Sense of humor - Helpful but not required.
Before starting make sure you have the right pot and potting mix selected; lay an inch or so layer of the mix at the bottom of the pot. Have the remaining potting mix nearby.
- Step 1: Gently squeeze the sides of the pot to loosen the roots if your plant is in a plastic pot. Place your cupped fingers over the surface of the soil and tilt the pot/plant upside down. The plant should slip out in the palm of your hand. If not, squeeze the sides of the plastic pot until it does. When it slides out lift the pot off and expose the root ball.
- Tip: If your plant’s roots have attached to the pot, a gentle squeeze may not be enough. Try sliding a plastic butter knife between the soil and pot and running it around the outside edge.
- Step 2: Look at the roots. Before setting the plant into its new pot. If you don’t see a lot of roots, set the root ball into the new pot without disturbing it. If the plant is root bound—so it’s a solid mass of roots—gently massage the root ball to loosen it before placing it in the pot. Allow the old soil to fall away. You want to lose about a third of the existing soil mix so you may need to gently massage to get more to drop.
- Tip: The larger the root, the more important it is to the plant. Damaging or removing the fine hair-like roots is less of an issue than larger, more established roots.
- Tip: The larger the root, the more important it is to the plant. Damaging or removing the fine hair-like roots is less of an issue than larger, more established roots.
- Step 3: Place the plant, root ball first, into the pot. Hold the plant in the center of the pot with one hand and add soil to fill in the spaces around the plant. Do not pack the soil down but do make sure all the spaces fill with soil by gently massaging it into place. Loose potting mix allows roots to explore freely. Make sure the plant is stable and the plant is buried to the same degree as it was in the previous pot.
- Tip: Leave an inch or so between the soil and the top of the pot so when you water, it doesn’t wash over the side of the pot.
- Step 4: Slowly pour water all over the surface of the soil. Continue adding water until you see water flowing freely from the drainage holes in the base of the pot. For the first time watering the newly repotted plant, you want to make sure the soil is left evenly moist throughout the pot. You may notice that the watering caused the soil level to drop below the desired height.
- Tip: It is best to let a good amount of water slowly pass through the soil on the plant’s first watering. Bagged potting soil is extremely dry and requires proper hydration to serve your plant well.
Pro Grower’s Note: Fertilizing at this time is not needed as you just gave the plant access to fresh nutrient. In fact, if you are repotting in the fall, it is best to hold off on fertilizer until early spring.