Big question: How do you know when it’s time to re-pot (or up-pot) your plant? Joy, our houseplant guru here at The Gardener’s Center, says there are some key signs to look for when your plant is telling you, “Now’s the time!”
Signs it’s Time to Up-Pot
- Roots are growing through the drainage holes.Water runs through
- your plant like a faucet; this means there’s too much root structure and not enough soil in the pot.
- You haven’t seen new growth in a loooong time.
- There are many exposed roots above the soil line.
- Your pot is bulging and misshapen.
How Do You Give Your Plant a New Home?
A good rule of thumb is the new pot your plant is moving to should be about two to four inches larger than the size of the pot your plant is currently in. If you go too large, you create too much soil density and will have the risk of overwatering.
Step one: Line the bottom of the new pot with some fresh soil, about an inch to an inch and a half of soil. Make it nice and even.
Step two: If your plant is stuck in its current pot, you can gently squeeze the sides of the pot to loosen up the old soil.
Step three: Carefully pull out the plant and see all those roots!
Step four: Drop the plant in and loosen up some of the side soil it currently has; fill in the space from the plant to the new pot’s edges with new soil.
Step five: Press down on the soil a bit—not too hard—just enough so your plant stays upright when you’re done.
Step six: Don’t add soil all the way to the top of the pot; you want to leave some space so when you water, it doesn’t go all over the place.
And that’s it! A successful up-potting! You should see your plant start to happily grow as it now has room to expand.
