House Plants Need New Homes Too!

When picking up a new house plant at the garden center you should expect the plant to go through some acclimating, it’s especially true with indoor plants like Ficus benjamina and the umbrella plant.

However, this is not the new home I’m talking about. Our houseplants may live in our indoor environment but their “home” is really the pot they live in.

Now, I’m not a big fan of repotting house plants but some plants when they outgrow their home repotting is needed. Here’s a few tips to help determine if your indoor plant is ready for a new home.

If a plant is not growing well or looks sick the plant may get round-bound and the root system cannot function as it should. Salts can also build up and burn roots.

During the spring and summer months houseplants will be more actively growing. If you’re going to repot, the spring and summer months are the best time for the plant to grow and get established in it’s new container “home.”

When to Repot – Here’s some Repotting Tips:

• Roots come out the bottom of the pot, or the roots are a large tangled mass
• The plant continues to dry out quickly and more water is needed
• Slower than normal growth in the “growing season”
• The plant is top heavy and outgrown the pot. The pot does not support the plant also look at double potting or cache pots.
• Water runs quickly through the pot and out the bottom. This happens when there isn’t enough soil to “grab” the moisture.
• Soil stained. When the top of the soil is stained it often indicates a salt build up which can burn roots.

When repotting – DO NOT over pot. Move up to the next size and usually no large than 2 inches in size.

Check out These Articles for More Information:

• Repotting House Plant Essentials
• Repotting House Plants - Why?

Repotting is at times necessary, make sure the plant needs it and not purely from the fact, you want to repot.

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