How To Repot A Houseplant

As might you know, your houseplants need repotting to keep them healthy and beautifully. Maybe the current pot is not enough anymore or you need to replace the compost and so on. We should know how to repot a houseplant in order to repot a houseplant safely and successfully. 

How to Repot a Houseplant

1. First task to repot a houseplant is you need to select a new pot. You can use pot with any size but usually you need larger pot than the current pot. The pot size should provide enough leave space for watering between the rim of the pot and the surface of the compost. The larger pots hold larger plants and require more water. You can use plastic pot or the clay pot. Make sure the new pot is clean, you can wash again the pot in order to make sure the new pot is not contaminated with chemicals.

2. If you want to use clay pot to repot a houseplant, you need to soak the pot with water a day before using it so the clay pot will not draw the water out the compost.

3. Water the plant in the day before you plan on repotting it.

4. Next step to repot a house plant is you need to remove your houseplant from current pot. You need to put your fingers over the top of the root ball, invert the pot, tap the pot’s rim on a firm surface, like a table or counter. But if the root ball resists, just run a knife between the pot and the root ball to loosen the roots.

5. When repotting a houseplant into a clay pot, you need to inspect the roots and remove the crock from the root ball’s base.

6. Pick a clean pot as mentioned on point 1-2 and place fresh compost into the pot’s base.

7. Place the root ball on top of compost layer in the center. Just make sure the surface of that root ball is below the rim and you can cover it with enough compost. Place some fresh compost around and over the roots. But keep in mind do not ram the compost into the pot tightly since you your plant need some space to move and grow. And don’t forget to leave enough space on top for watering.

So there are how to repot a houseplant as described above step by step. Finally you can place the pot or plant at place that you can enjoy them easily.

But how if the houseplants are already in a large pot and can’t be repotted? If it is a case, you need to top-dress the compost. It means that you need to remove the top about 25 to 36 mm (1 to 1 1/2 inches) of old compost and replace it with fresh compost. But be sure not to damage the plant’s roots, and leave a gap for watering purpose between the top of the compost and the rim of the pot. Repotting a houseplant is not so difficult if you can follow above tips.

photo credit: flickr.com