Tuesday, May 18, 2010

How often do house plants need to be re-potted?

It all depends on the type and variety of houseplant that you have.





Fast growing plants such as the spider plants need to be re-potted about every 2-3 months. Some indoor cactus can go years without repotting.





You can always tell when a plant needs repotting by the pot. Plastic pots will split open, and clay pots can sometimes crack when the plant gets too big.





If you see roots sticking out thru the drain hole it's probably time to re-pot.

How often do house plants need to be re-potted?
For most approximately 2 years
Reply:The only thing I would add from Sue from Iowa is that some plants prefer to be root bound to some degree. Best personally example I can think of is my Grandmother's snake plant (or mother-in-law's-tongue) and Xmas cactus. Both were in their respective planters for better than decade.. Every year or so she would add some fresh soil about the top. The snake plant was the only one I've ever seen bloom inside every year - she had started with 4 plants in 4" pots and put them into an 18" planter that was about 8" deep, and the Xmas cactus had a 4 inch trunk and its longest arms were over 3 feet - it was in a 10" standard terra cotta planter.
Reply:Most house plants need to be replanted from every 6 months to a year....but a lot depends on how big of house plant and kind of house plant. Some plants are faster growing than others.


Observe when you water...if roots have overgrown the pot and it takes a long time for water to run thru when it needs repotted.


Otherwise if plant is smaller size you can pull plant out of pot and if roots have made their way around base of soil it is time to replant.


When you do replant you only want to go 1 or 2 inches larger for old pot and if roots have formed rootball take your fingers or even sharp knife and loosen roots before repotting.


Water in good and give dose of miracle grow and you will be set for couple months.

buckles

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