When to Repot New Houseplants?
It’s essential that you don’t stress out your indoor plant with repotting. It will probably do exactly that, so we recommend doing it at the end of your time with your indoor plant if you really must.
In the nursery, your plant was tended to, watered regularly, and fertilized occasionally before it made its way to your home or apartment. The plant may have traveled great distances, adding up to hundreds or thousands of miles, before reaching the garden store where you purchased it.
Your houseplant isn’t exactly a frequent flyer. It was probably already stressed out by the time it was bought at the store. The plant will adjust to the new environment with time, which is why repotting now is a great idea if you’re anxious to do it. A stressed plant is already damaged, and it’s better to prolong the stress a bit rather than let it recover and stress out again months later.
We mentioned in the introduction that stressed plants show brown leaves and a wilted and drooping appearance. Changes in soil, repotting and irrigation can also lead to stress in plants. The leaves may even fall off.
Those are the two options you have, but we must ask why you would want to repot them. A houseplant shouldn’t grow so quickly that, a few weeks after it is planted, it grows out of the pot it comes in. Almost all indoor plants need to be repotted annually, and a few even less frequently than that. In order for your new plant to need a new pot, you would need to apply a powerful fertilizer to it.
You might not always need to replace the houseplant’s pot if you just think it needs a new home. Here’s when you should consider buying a new pot for your houseplant.
You Can Barely See the Pot Anymore
In the case of a houseplant, significant growth is when the plant is so large, full, and lush that it is impossible to see the pot. At that point, yes, a new container is necessary.
The Drainage Holes Are All Full
It is very important that the drainage holes in the pot remain open, otherwise water will accumulate in a pool and soak the roots of your houseplant. If the plant becomes too low in oxygen or gets root rot, it either drowns or dies. Neither situation is pleasant for the poor plant.
In some cases, indoor plants can block up the drainage holes on their own. This usually happens when the plants reach a certain size. It may be possible for the roots to grow outside the drainage holes because they have nowhere else to go.
The Plant Doesn’t Absorb Water
In order for your houseplant to stay healthy and keep growing, the water you feed it should get absorbed into the roots. The flowers and leaves of the plant should not have water sitting on them, and the soil should not feel dry. A new pot could help.
The Soil Is in Bad Shape
A secondary issue to watch out for is soil disintegration. If your soil feels crumbly or compact, you have two options. Choose carefully when changing the soil type or repotting your houseplant. Both options can be stressful for your houseplant.
The Benefits of Repotting Your Plant
It is something that all gardeners will have to do at some point in their career, often more than once. Repotting should not be feared or dreaded. It is important to make sure you only water the houseplant when it is in need and not when you think it needs it.
You will begin enjoying the following benefits as soon as the repotting schedule is in place.
Produces More Plants
Before, you didn’t give your offshoots enough room to grow, but since you’ve provided them with adequate space, they’re flourishing. It will only take a little time and care to have the offshoots grow into houseplants of their own, and you did all this because you repotted.
Gives You the Chance to Tend to the Roots
The roots of your houseplant are among the most important components. By repotting, you can now examine all of its parts, including its root ball. The root ball should be examined and any damaged or dying roots should be trimmed.
The roots can be eliminated if your houseplant has overwatered to this point. Even better, if the plant has been infected by disease or fungus, you can remove affected roots and encourage the plant to heal.
Your Houseplant Has Room to Get Bigger
There is no need to speak about this obvious benefit. The larger the pot, the more room a houseplant will have to spread its legs. Its leaves will grow larger and more plentiful, the foliage more colorful and vivid.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean you should always choose the largest container possible for your houseplant. A pot that is too big can harm your plant just as much as one that is too small. Your houseplant is at a greater risk of tipping over, smashing on the apartment floor. The poor thing could suffer serious damage as a result.
If you place the houseplant in a place where it cannot fall, you still have to pay for more soil when it grows in a larger pot. It’s likely that if you water all that soil because there’s so much of it, the soil will retain moisture longer. Your plant is more likely to end up with root rot if the water lingers.
New Soil Provides the Nutrients a Growing Plant Needs
We are not suggesting you repot your indoor plants in a different type of soil, just fresh soil, so switching soil types may stress out your plants.
The soil loses its nutrients when you do not repot for a year, or even longer, and that is something that is purely natural. Your houseplant can suffer nutritional deficiencies when it does not get the nutrients it needs, which will negatively affect growth and may yellow the leaves. Fertilizer can sometimes prevent this, but it does not always work.
It doesn’t usually matter much whether you buy fresh soil or not, as it now delivers all those nutrients directly to your houseplant’s roots. The leaves will glow, the color will be vibrant, and your plant will be healthy.
Is it okay to repot houseplants in winter?
In the winter, you can give a houseplant far more attention than you can an outdoor plant. Whether you should repot a houseplant in the winter or any other time of year will depend on the type of houseplant. Repotting before the growing season will encourage maximum growth. For indoor plants, this usually happens in spring. Repot at that time.
Why did my plant die after repotting?
Uh-oh. Until you moved it to its new pot, your houseplant looked fine. Then, it died within weeks. Why did it die? Is there anything I can do to prevent this?
The plant was probably overstressed by your actions. Repotting a houseplant can cause stress, as does the introduction of new soil and sometimes even new fertilizer. Your plant could have been killed by a combination of those stressors. Next time, limit how much stress you put it through at once.
Should I water my plants after repotting?
Initially, your inclination might be to saturate the soil in the pot with water, but you should instead sprinkle water on the houseplant until the soil is moistened. Ideally, give your plants a little more water now rather than later because overwatering may cause root rot and other damage.