Hi spring! Time to repot your houseplants
Spring is the best period to repost your plants. Houseplants will recover faster from a repotting session in this season because temperatures are higher and there is more daylight per day. In this period also the roots of your plants grow faster compared to autumn. Your roots can slightly damage during your repot session, so now they will have enough time (and power) to recover.
Let’s start at the beginning. I always recommend to repot fast growing houseplants every year, slow growing houseplants every two years. There are different guidelines to apply on a flowering plant. If you have a flowering plant at home, wait until the flowering is over. A plant can get stressed from repotting and this stress will shorten the flowering period.
When is it time to repot your plants? Well, at least if the roots are visible at the bottom of the pot and maybe even growing through it. In addition, it is always recommended to repot newly purchased plants from the original growpot. Growers place their houseplants in smaller growpots to keep transport costs as low as possible.
Some people find repotting plants a tedious job. Let’s take a look at the benefits:
- New growth is stimulated because the roots have more space to grow.
- Your plant gets new nutrition from the soil which stimulates grow.
- You prevent the roots from chocking by giving them more room to grow.
- And last but not least: It looks way better if your plant has a pot that also fits his size
Time for a repot session!
What’s the plan of action? Always choose a pot that is at least 20% bigger than the current potsize of your plant. I recently repotted my Livistona Rotundifolia Palm. This palm was still in a growing pot from the garden cente which was too small. I chose the new elho fuente grains for repotting.
The new elho fuente pots are supplied with a plug at the bottom of the pot, making it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. If you want to use the fuente outside, remove the plug so excess water can flow away. If you choose to put the fuente inside as I did, leave the plug in the pot and use leca balls. Leca balls collect any excess water so that you prevent your plant from getting too wet and can develop root rot.
Because I am going to put my Livistona Rotundifolia Palm indoors, I place the plant in leca balls and potting soil. I left the plug in the pot because the leca balls will absorb the excess water. Repotting is done as follows: First, carefully remove the plant from the current pot and remove as much potting soil as possible. Of course you make sure that you do not damage the roots during this job. Place a few centimeters of leca balls in the pot, followed by a layer of fresh potting soil. Then place the plant in its new pot and fill the pot with the remaining soil. Easy peasy!
When finished, give your plant a dash of water. Your plant can now live and grow happy for months and the only thing you need to do is water the plant regularly. You will see your plant grow and bloom. I wish you a happy spring and lots of fun in repotting!
Who is Rosalien?
Hi, my name is Rosalien! Most people know me as Roos. I am 23 years old and I live with my 2 cats Friendo & Poezel and about 150 houseplants near Eindhoven. In my blog posts for elho I will tell you more about everything in the field of (taking care of) houseplants! My passion for indoor plants started about two years ago and my plant collection has gotten a bit out of hand now. I now have a lot of knowledge about indoor plants and I put this into practice every day. I spend most of the day taking care of my plants and making the right soil mix or plant nutrition. I already share this knowledge on my instagram @Greeny_Lab, but now also with you for elho!
