Now, when it comes to this, it can be a point of contention for most plant owners. Why? When you bring in a new plant, some tend to not repot them, while others wait a while for the plant to acclimate and adjust to its surroundings, to prevent shock.
Some people like myself, I tend to repot them after bringing them in. I may wait an hour or so, but generally these plants are repotted right after they enter my home. The exception would be, if I don’t have the needed tools and accessories to make this happen.
For the plants that I’ve brought into my home, I’ve repotted them pretty much the same way, but with different mediums obviously. I’ve done this with tropical, carnivorous, some succulent types, cacti, and fairly common everyday plants that are easy to maintain.
First thing, I make certain the water used is not too warm if it’s from the tap.
NOTE: I’m sure people will be against this, but if that’s all you have, then what choice do you have, especially if you’re in the middle of the process?
If I choose to have bottled water, such as distilled water, then I’ll make sure it’s room temperature, and not too cool if it’s in a spot stored where it can get cold. Now, when I say bottled water, I don’t simply mean purchased water, but water stored somewhere in the home, for either emergencies, or just to keep room temperature, for drinking or for other purposes. It should be distilled regardless, but I digress.
Next, have your destination ready for potting. The pot should often be bigger than the one you received your plant in, so make certain that you clean it well.
Next, have your other empty pot, roughly the size of the pot which the plant came in, or bigger. This way, the soil transfer will not be too messy.
Next, go check the bottom of the plant pot with the plant in it, to check for roots coming out of the bottom. If you have this issue, trim off those roots, in order to make it easier to remove the plant from that pot, to place it in the new pot.
Next, get your medium ready.
OPTIONAL: Use a few rocks at the bottom of the pot, to cover over the holes at the bottom of the pot, prior to adding your medium. If your medium is sphagnum moss, then this step is not needed. Also, for sphagnum moss, you’ll need to pre-soak it, and squeeze out excess water, prior to adding your plants.
Next, add your medium to your new pot, then mix it with water. You’ll notice, if you add the medium, it will be light, and can pile up into a big mound. That’s fine. Adding water can pull down some of that, and weigh down the soil a bit, so that it will get that moisture.
OPTIONAL: For those that use mosquito bits, or other insecticides, or even fertilizers, you can add them to the medium, prior to repotting the plants.
Next, get your plants ready for repotting. Squeeze the sides of the pot, to loosen the soil. Once it’s loosened enough, then go over to the spare pot, and empty that into there.
NOTE: In some instances, the soil and the roots are packed so tightly, it won’t separate, so you’ll need to put this in water to loosen the soil some more.
Once the soil is loosened enough for the roots to be removed easily, then proceed.
Next, make certain you have lukewarm water, in order to wash out the excess soil and whatever else may be attached to the roots of the plant. For some plants, you can get the leaves wet, while for others, this needs to be avoided. At this point, you should see the roots, clear enough to know if it’s healthy and in need of better care.
Next, go to your destination, and add water to your medium. Then, proceed to make a hole deep enough in your medium, so that you can simply add your plant to it. Once it’s in, pack the soil around it, but just enough that it covers the roots well. You can add more soil if needed, but you’ll need to add more water also.
Depending on the pot you are using, if it doesn’t have holes at the bottom, at least one, then you have to proceed with caution when watering them. This is where you may need something to check the dampness or dryness of the soil, before watering. It may take up to a week or to a month, depending on the variety of plant you are using. Often use a dry bamboo skewer or even a chopstick to see if your soil is dry. The top layer might be, but everything else may be wet, which is why you need to do this.
If you have sphagnum moss, it’s more about a change of color. Often, when it’s wet, sphagnum moss is darker, but when it’s dry, or drying out, it becomes a lighter tanned color, so look out for that. For this, you can just feel it with your fingers to check for any dryness.
For using pots with holes at the bottom, have a saucer or a tray to keep some excess water. The saucer, will keep some excess water, but it will overflow, and it can be messy. With trays, you can bottom water the plants, and still top water the plant, without water overflowing. If you have the tray, top watering isn’t needed, but optional.
After this, it’s a matter of scheduling a time to water your plants. Also, having it in a place to get proper lighting, whether it’s artificial or sunlight, that will determine where you place your plants. Both will help your plants thrive and grow. Some may even push flowers, or keep flowering if they already have flowers.
This has worked for me, but there will always be those outliers, where this isn’t going to work for very long. I explained this with certain plants, but their problems were well beyond the repotting stage.