As the weather warms up, it’s a great time to tend to your spring cleaning. One of the tasks on your never-ending list might involve re-potting plants. Why re-pot your plants? Well, when the roots become too much for a planter to bear, you need to give them some breathing room. Otherwise, the plant’s health will deteriorate, and it will fail to flourish.
Know When It’s Time
Just like people, plants also get tired of living in tiny apartments. We recommend that you re-pot a plant every year to year and a half, or when it starts to display signs that it’s living in cramped quarters. Some of these signs include roots growing through the drainage hole, roots pushing the plant up and out of the pot, unusually slow or stagnant growth, top heavy plant that is falling over, dry soil or noticeable salt and mineral buildup on the greenery or planter.
Gather Your Supplies
Once you’ve determined that your plant needs to be re-potted, you should gather some supplies. To transfer the plant, you’ll need to lay down some newspaper for easy cleanup of your work surface. After you’ve done that, make sure you have potting soil, a shovel or trowel, watering can or water bottle, your plant and the new planter you want to move it to. Tip: if you thoroughly water your plant a day or two before the re-potting, it will make the job easier and ease the transition.
Follow the Process
Before trying to transfer the plant, you should pre-moisten the new potting mix. Then, turn the potted plant upside-down, hold it gently by the stems to keep everything together and tap the bottom of the container until the plant slides out. While making the transition to the new pot, be careful to keep the plant intact. Lower it into the new pot that is one-third full of potting soil. Add more soil around the plant until it is secure, then even out the potting mix and straighten up the plant. Water well and let drain, and the plant should be good as new!
No matter what kind of spring cleaning, gardening or home renovation project you’d like to tackle this spring, you neighbors at One Stop Rental are here to help. If you have questions about getting your home ready for warmer weather, contact us or reach out via social media.