When, and how, to repot a house plant
Roots coming out of the bottom, water running straight through, a plant that has stopped growing. The signs, the right season and the five-minute method.
The plants we send arrive in pots that will be comfortable for at least a year. After that, most of them will tell you when they need more room.
The signs
Roots poke out of the drainage hole or circle the top of the soil. Water runs straight through the pot. The plant dries out in two days where it used to take a week. Or it simply stops putting out new leaves in the growing season.
The right time
Spring and early summer, when the plant is growing and can recover quickly. Avoid repotting a plant that is flowering, or one that has just moved house; give it a few weeks to settle first.
The method
Choose a pot only two to five centimetres wider than the old one, with a drainage hole. Water the plant the day before. Ease it out, loosen the outer roots with your fingers, set it at the same depth in fresh potting mix and water it well.
Expect a short sulk: a dropped leaf or a pause in growth is normal. Within a month the new roots will have found the fresh soil.
