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Should I Repot My Plants?

As you move your tropical plants outside for the summer, you may find yourself wondering if it’s time to repot a few of them.

There are several reasons to repot your plants. Sometimes, you just want to switch up your decor and put it in a new pot, and sometimes you may be concerned that the plant has outgrown its pot and has become root-bound. You may even have a plant that still fits in its pot, but has pulled all of the nutrients from the soil. In that case, you’ll want to “repot” by switching out the old soil for fresh potting soil. 

Generally speaking, you should repot indoor plants every 12 –18 months. Repotting is a good time to check on the health of your plant’s roots. Part of plant care is ensuring that your plants have a healthy root system and the only way to check on that is to repot your plant. 

When you’ve removed your plant from its pot, check the color of the roots. Look for any root rot (black, shriveled roots) and cut those pieces out. Gently shake the dirt off of the root ball and remove all of the old potting mix. Tease apart existing roots so that they can spread out in the new pot. If you have root-bound plants (a solid ball of root with little or no soil left) be careful when shaking out the root ball and spend extra time teasing the roots apart. A root-bound pot generally needs a larger pot; however, there are a few plants that like to be root bound. 

Peace Lily, Spider Plant, African Violets, Aloe, Umbrella Tree, Ficus, Agapanthus, Asparagus Fern, Spider Lily, Christmas Cactus, Jade Plant, Snake Plant, and Boston Fern all prefer to be root bound, so don’t repot them too often. 

When choosing a new pot make sure to look for a drainage hole. Ideally, when you water your plant you’ll do so thoroughly until the water runs through the bottom of the pot to keep salts and other minerals from building up in the soil. If your pot doesn’t have a drainage hole you may need to repot your plant more often. Remember that if you have a plastic pot or a sealed ceramic pot you’ll water your plant less often than if it’s in a terra cotta pot. 

After choosing your pot, make sure you have the right type of potting mix for your plant. If you have a cactus or succulent you’ll want a different type of soil than if you have a tropical foliage plant. Put a little bit of potting mix in the pot before carefully placing your plant in and filling in around it with new potting mix. Don’t compress the soil too much when repotting and water thoroughly. 

The whole process shouldn’t take you too long, and you’ll have happier plants when you’re done! So grab a plant, a new pot, and some potting soil and get re-potting!