Transplanting indoor plants | When? How? Why?

“Should I transplant this plant?” is an eternal question that we ask ourselves when we first buy a houseplant or when spring arrives and we feel that maybe we should do something with our plants. In this article, we will talk about when the plant should be transplanted, how and why it is necessary to transplant them at all.

Why is it necessary to transplant indoor plants?

As the plant develops and grows outside, so do its roots in the container. When the roots develop so much and fill the jar to the maximum, problems related to the growth and health of the plant can begin to appear.

If the plant is tied up by the roots for too long, the plant will eventually start to grow more slowly and produce smaller leaves.

In addition, as the roots grow, there will be less and less soil in the jar, and when the plant has not been transplanted for a long time, it is possible for the jar to be left without soil at all.

This means that there is no more material that absorbs and retains water, which is why the plant will have to be watered constantly. In addition, the roots will be more exposed to salts and minerals from the fertilizer, which can add stress to the plant.

For these reasons, once the plant is rooted, it needs to be transplanted into a slightly larger container and given room for further development.

When should indoor plants be transplanted?

Most houseplants like to be root-bound, which means they should not be transplanted until they have filled the container with their roots.

You can only tell if a plant is rooted if you take it out of the pot and look at it. It is not possible to know based on the size of the plant (which we see outside the pot) whether it should be transplanted or not.

They could guess, but we can’t know for sure if she really needs to be transplanted or not. Also, it is not enough to look under the pot to see if the roots come out through the drainage holes.

It can happen that the roots naturally begin to come out through the holes without having developed in the jar. So, in any case, carefully remove the plant from its current container and look at its roots.

As much as transplanting can have a positive effect on the plant, it can also be harmful if we transplant the plant too early and it is not yet ready for a larger container.

For easier understanding, it is best to see it with an example.

• it is not yet time to transplant – insufficiently developed roots

• can be transplanted

• excessively tied – must be transplanted

Should you transplant the plant as soon as you buy it?

You bought a new plant and brought it home, should you transplant it right away or not?

This is a very common question on which even experts do not have a single opinion. Some believe that they should be transplanted immediately, while others believe that they should not be transplanted.

My experience is somewhere in between. What I always do with new plants is that when I bring them home, first of all, they go to a place isolated from other plants, to a kind of quarantine in case some intruders appear, for a short time (about two weeks).

Most often, it is a place with a lot of indirect light to make the transition from the nursery/garden center as less stressful as possible for the plant.

So, first of all, I allow the plant to acclimatize to the new space and, in accordance with its needs, I choose its place in the apartment, the frequency of watering and other necessary things.

Also, if we are talking about some kind of succulent or a plant that I know would prefer to be in a terracotta jar than in a plastic one, I will wait a bit, but I will definitely transplant it into terracotta, whether it is rooted or not.

In that case, if it is not bound by roots, I do not transplant it into a larger pot, but only transplant it from plastic into a terracotta pot of the same size.

If the new plant already had a lot of attached roots at the time of purchase, I transplant it into a larger pot only after a month of adapting to the new space.

In general, if it is not bound by roots, and I do not want to transplant it into terra cotta, I do not transplant it until it is necessary.

However, it is possible that during those 2-3 weeks of quarantine some kind of intruders will show up. In that case, even if it is not bound by the roots, I usually completely replace the soil and treat its leaves in order to prevent the spread or reproduction of the pest as much as possible.

If the plant is not attached by roots, and you want to transplant it for some reason, either because of an intruder or a change of soil, etc., you do not need to take a larger container.

If some pests are bothering you, and you don’t know how to recognize and treat them, in the article – The most common pests that we will find on our indoor plants – how to recognize them and how to get rid of them without pesticides, I go through the ones that we can encounter most often.

How to transplant a houseplant?

Now that we have established that it is time to transplant our plant, we come to the fun part.

All you need for transplanting is a jar one size larger than the one the plant is currently in and the soil.

You can choose a plastic container, a container made of terracotta, cement, metal, or any other material. What is important is that the container has at least one hole in the bottom. This is important so that when watering, all excess water can flow out.

I usually use plastic and terracotta jars for transplanting plants, while I use ceramic, metal, etc. containers that do not have a hole in the bottom as decorative containers.

If you are not sure which type of container to choose, take a look at the article How to choose the best jar for your indoor plant, in which we go through the positive and negative sides of plastic and terracotta, and how just by choosing a container you can make it easier to maintain the plant.

As for soil, you can find different soils for indoor plants. Certain plants require a more permeable substrate, while some require soil that will retain moisture for a longer period of time.

Substrates for indoor plants consist of absorbent material (peat, coconut soil), permeable material (perlite, sand, zeolite, bark) and humus. The ratio in which we mix these materials depends on the type of plant and its needs.

Now that you have a container and soil, it’s time to plant!

Add some substrate to the bottom of the pot and lay your plant inside. Make sure that the surface of the current soil is about 2 cm below the rim of the jar so that there is room for water when watering.

If you plant the plant in such a way that the surface of the soil is level with the edge of the container, when watering, water can spill over the edge of the container and create an unnecessary mess.

The amount of soil you put on the bottom will be measured by how far the surface of the soil ends in relation to the edge of the pot.

Once you’ve solved that, start filling the soil around the plant and gently press the soil down so that no air pockets are created between the roots and the new soil.

When you have filled everything nicely, water the plant abundantly until the water begins to leak through the drainage holes. It is possible that when watering, the surface of the earth will go down. In this case, add a little more soil afterwards.

When you have transplanted it, return the plant to its favorite place and enjoy its growth.