Plus, telltale signs it’s time to repot your plant.
Outdoor container gardens also benefit from repotting to freshen the soil and provide room for expanding roots.
What You’ll Need:
How to Repot Your Plant
1.
Photo: Getty Images/Artem Makovskyi, babyrhino
Terracotta pots contract and expand as they freeze and thaw, making them prone to cracking.
Buy the Right Soil
The success of a potted plant is rooted, quite literally, in healthy soil.
As with container selection, the most important consideration is drainage.
Have you ever noticed small white balls in potting soil?
It may sound contradictory to want good drainage and water retention.
Perlite and similar materials help maintain this balance.
Root-bound plants may be very snug in their pots.
If the plant is in a plastic container, squeeze the sides of the pot to loosen the soil.
Then tip the plant sideways and shake it from its pot.
Avoid pulling on the stems of the plant, as they can break.
Even plants you just purchased from the garden center may have circling roots.
Before repotting the plant, we want to loosen up the root ball.
Work your fingers into the soil and between the roots, starting at the bottom of the plant.
Work the roots out of their coils and spread them out.
Some of the roots may break in the processdon’t worry.
The plant will be much better off with its roots spread out, even if you break a few.
Fill the bottom third of the container with the soil mix, then set the plant in the pot.
Add or remove soil beneath the root ball until you have achieved the proper height.
Now you’re free to fill in around the roots with soil while holding the plant in place.
Gently push the soil down as you work to fill the spaces between the roots.
Fill the container to about 14 to 12 inch below the top.
double-check to water plants right away.
Sometimes, roots start to push the plant up and out the top of the container.
Finally, plant size may tell you it is time to repot.
The same is true if a plant becomes top-heavy and easily falls over.
These can be replanted in the same container with fresh potting soil.
Spring is the best time of year to repot plants.
