Repot your green plants

Repotting is an essential operation for the well-being of your plants, especially for indoor plants . This is necessary to give the roots room to develop and also to renew the organic matter contained in the substrate which nourishes the plants. If this scares you because you've never done it, you think it's complicated or you don't have the space, we are here to guide you. Here's everything you need to know about repotting!

When to repot your plants?

When should you repot your plants?

Repotting is generally done at the start of the plant season, at the beginning of spring , that is to say during March in France. If for some reason you need to repot your plants at another time, just avoid the plant rest period between October and January.

How do you know if a plant needs to be repotted?

A plant must be repotted when its pot becomes too small for its growth or when it has exhausted all the nutrients in the substrate that nourish it. If you notice that your plant's growth is slowing down or if you see that its leaves tend to turn yellow and drop off more frequently, it's probably time to repot. The only way to be really sure is to unpot your plant . If you observe that its roots form a compact mass, repot. Conversely, if the soil comes off easily and few roots appear in the root ball, then you can still wait a bit. The general rule is to repot a young, growing plant every year, and a more mature plant every 2 to 4 years .

What material to repot?

Choose your pot well

Two things are essential when choosing the pot for your plant. First, its size , which must be adapted to the plant, neither too small otherwise the plant will choke, nor too large otherwise it will create stress for the plant which will not be used to this space. You will find for all our plants, an indication on their sheet of the size of their culture pot and our recommendation of pot size in which to repot it for the first time. Second, pay attention to the material of the pot , the more porous it is the more your plant will be able to breathe. Terracotta, clay and stoneware pots are among the most porous and allow excellent aeration of the soil. Very heavy, they can be difficult to handle but this nevertheless offers them great stability. Be careful, if they are varnished, this significantly reduces their porosity. Fiberstone pots combine the quality of natural pots with lighter weight . Made of a mixture of stone fiber and fiberglass, they are of high quality, light and have a very nice finish. Plastic pots , which are a little less porous, offer the advantage of being much lighter, easy to clean and exist in a multitude of colors and shapes. Finally, note that if you use a cache pot such as a wicker basket , a burlap or our Bacsac bags, you will still have to change the pot inside regularly.

Tools and organic matter

To repot your plant, bring:

• A pot : either it is new if your plant is new or if you need to change size or you reuse the same one. In any case, we advise you to wash it with soapy water for plastic pots, letting them soak in hot water with a little bleach for fiberstone and terracotta pots.
• Clay balls that absorb excess water at the bottom of your pot to prevent the roots from drowning in them when you water
• Potting soil that you can adapt to your plant
• Mulch (optional) to retain the moisture in the soil, which makes it possible to space out the waterings, particularly practical when you are away.

To make your life easier, we've created a potting kit for you that has everything on this list.

I buy my potting kit

How to repot my plant: the 5 main steps of repotting

1. I prepare my work plan. Plan a large enough space, either on a table if you have the space, or on the floor. In both cases, protect well with a tarp or by recycling an old sheet, delivery boxes or even newspaper.

2. I deposit . Tip for unpotting: avoid watering just before because a dry rootball is smaller and easier to handle. Using a dibber or by hand (preferably with gloves so as not to injure yourself), remove the top of the soil. Scrape deeper and deeper, gently , to clear the root ball created by your plant's root system without damaging them. Using a claw or your fingers, loosen the soil from the roots to aerate them. You can cut the end of your roots with a pair of scissors to promote their regeneration. There you go, you have your clod! Empty the rest of the soil. If your plant has not suffered a disease, you can reuse the old soil by mixing it with new but only for outdoor plants.

3. I wash my pot . Whether your pot is new or already used, we advise you to wash it with soapy water for plastic pots and by letting it soak in hot water with a little bleach for fiberstone and clay pots. cooked.

4. I prepare my pot . If you don't have a cup or a hole in your pot to let the water drain, you can put a piece of felt or geotextile at the very bottom of the pot. Then add a layer of clay balls on about a tenth of the height of the pot. To prevent the beads from mixing with the potting soil, separate with a new piece of felt or geotextile , making sure it covers the entire surface and sticks well to the edges of the pot. Then add the layer of new potting soil up to a quarter of the height of the pot.

5. I plant my plant. Place your root ball in the center of the pot , making sure that the top of the root ball is aligned with the edge of the pot (adjust by removing or adding potting soil). Then add potting soil all around the root ball, tamping down with your palm or your fist. Finish by watering your plant to moisten the soil well.

Photos: gettyimages,