When is your plant ready to be repotted?
Healthy and strong plants grow in the best potting mix. A soil that retains water too much will strip the roots of oxygen, causing them to respire and slowly breakdown anaerobically. Buying or making your own soil blend that's tailored for the specific plant species will benefit its overall health on many levels.
You can personalise it to suit each particular plant and it’s individual requirements.
A little research into what type of soil conditions it requires is a good place for you to start.
To start:
Select a house plant that indicates that it’s ready to be repotted.
Here’s some of my points in recognising when it’s time:
*Plant is slow to produce new growth.
*Plant appears lacklustre.
*Maybe the soil appears lacklustre and has lost its texture and is less vibrant in colour.
*The soil doesn’t retain water even when it’s literally just been watered.
*Teasing the plant out of its nursery pot shows bound roots.
*The ratio of roots out ways the amount of soil.
*The soil has shrunk away from the sides of the pot.
*The top of the soil has created a stiff layer on top of the surface rather than crumbly
Based on the plant you have selected to begin with and the prior research you can mix your own blend from the soil base, soil conditioners and subtrate pouches we sell. As a responsible plant owner, you would have looked into what your plant prefers, you’ll just need to do some research into what type of soil your plant will thrive in.
Reach for a large mixing bowl and sink your hands in and enjoy mixing your blend together.
Retain any left over material for other repotting projects. The best time of year is in the springtime when your plants exit their dormant period and begin to get active in their growth period. Both warmth and longer daylight hours in the spring triggers this.
Don’t forget to use plant feed. An organic one is always the best especially when using coir as it has no nutrient content. It’s up to you to add it.
Top tip: only upscale your plant one plant pot size bigger each time- don’t go too big too soon as the ratio of soil to root is out balanced and can cause root rot if the soil doesn’t dry out sufficiently in time.
Remember to take a before and after photo of your chosen plant. It will show you the results over time that your soil blend has enabled your plant to revive and flourish to its best.
Create your own blend from the variety of ingredients we stock. There is no exact ratios you have to work from to receive success but the following indicators will get your started down the right combinations:
•Aloes, succulents and cactus. All desert type plants: coir, pumice, perlite or sand are all suitable for plants that require well drained soils.
•Aroid plants such as aglaonemas, monsteras, philodendrons, pothos and ZZ plants prefer a chunky, bark-based potting soil with good drainage and organic matter.
•Tropical plants such as Calatheas like all plants (apart from big plants and terrariums) require a pot with drainage holes at its base; although it likes moist soil, it is still susceptible to root rot if it becomes waterlogged. Try a mix of 50 percent coir potting soil, 20 percent orchid bark, 20 percent charcoal, and 10 percent perlite. They don’t approve of drying out.
A bit of research will help you determine what your plant needs.
Keep your potting jobs neat by investing in a reusable potting tarp which will help avoid getting soil and mess spreading everywhere.
We have experimented with over time and have tried and tested many ingredients that all the different plant species should grow and flouirsh.We have created easy and small re usable pouches filled with a variety of these materials. Just pick the best ones for your plant, mix and repot your plants. We now have a wide range including relatively new components such as leca, sphagnum moss, coir chips alongside some of the more well known go to elements that we've all hard of such as horticultural sand, To follow our sustainable policy non of these will contain peat soil.
We encourage you kall to use eviromentally sustainable alternatives such as coir. Although we sell perlite we recommend you sample our rice husks. A biproduct of the agricultral sector. It offers you the same aeration to the root system that perlite provides. Studying on my horticulutral course has also given me insight into what the different plant species thrive in. Id like to think that Ive been able to offer you a wide range of these products based on gaining this learning both from valued text books and from practical experience. The pouches are resealable so store any spare material for future potting on projects. The small size means that they are a cost effective way without having to unnessesarily buy in bulk avoiding any waste.
Get your hands dirty. Pull your sleeves up and enjoy repotting your prized houseplants. You will receive much satisfaction from making these simple and caring connections with nature. a genuine feel good factor can be found right here.
Have fun x
