Whether you’ve got anything from a window box to a bigger container garden, repotting your plants is important. It will give them the additional room they need to grow and allow the roots to spread out. Repotting your plants also gives you the opportunity to refresh the soil as it can become depleted of nutrients after a while. It’s, therefore, essential to learn how to repot a plant as this will ensure it grows as well as it can. Here are some quick tips on how to repot a plant. You can do this in a few easy steps.
- Choosing the right pot
- Loosen the roots
- Remove old potting mix
- Add new potting mix
- Add plant
- Water and enjoy!
Step 1: Choosing the right pot
It’s important to choose the right pot for your plant. It needs to be a suitable size for the type of plant and how much it’s expected to grow. This means your new pot shouldn’t be too big or small. Plant pots should also have drainage holes. These allow excess water to be drained out and prevent it from pooling at the bottom. Plant roots are sensitive and this protects them from bacteria, rot, and fungus.
Step 2: Loosen the roots
After carefully removing your plant from its old container, you should gently loosen the roots with your hand. This is because after being in a smaller pot, your plant may have become root bound. The roots will appear overgrown and stuck together in a ball. This could also make the plant more difficult to remove from the old container. It’s important to move plants to a larger pot in this case as root bound plants may wilt more quickly due to stunted growth.
Step 3: Remove old potting mix
Before you repot your plant you need to remove the old potting mix and replace it. This is because most of the nutrients in the old potting mix will have been used up by the plant already. Your plant will benefit much more from some fresh potting mix, so adding this is an essential part of the repotting process.
Step 4: Add new potting mix
Choose a high-quality potting mix that’s rich in nutrients. When adding the mix, one trick is to make a dent in the new potting mix using the old container and then to fill the remainder of the pot around it. This way you’ll have the perfect sized hole to fit the plant in. Before adding the new potting soil, check to see if the pot has drainage holes. If the new pot doesn’t have drainage holes there is something you can do. Try adding a few rocks to the bottom of the pot to prevent water from rotting the plant’s roots.
Step 5: Add plant
Once you’ve filled the pot you can carefully add the plant to hole you’ve created. Pat the potting mix down gently around the plant and add a little more if it needs securing. Water in the potting mix with a watering can and this will help to settle the soil. Then it’s time to sit back and watch your efforts bloom.
