Repotting Techniques for Container Plants

Repotting is often done by most people, as they want to give their plants a better life. However, there are a few repotting techniques for container plants that you should know about. Some of the techniques are not very scientific and hence you may end up damaging your plants if you try to experiment with them without proper knowledge about them. Therefore, it is recommended that you first seek some professional help before experimenting with the techniques. Also, you must know about the different ways of re-potting and which techniques can be used to re-pot plants which are explained below.

1. Neck-lacing Technique

One of the most common and easy to learn and use repotting techniques for container plants is called neck-lacing. In this method, you need to first make a small hole at the bottom of the container in which you will be putting the plant. The plant will have to be inserted into this small hole so that it gets good root support. Once the plant is in the hole, you can now tie a rope around the trunk of the plant to keep it firmly in place. This type of reporting is more successful in smaller pots.

2. Slinging Technique

The next step of the repotting techniques for container plants is called slinging. In this method, you need to make a shallow hole at the bottom of your pot, as well as a slightly larger one at the top of the pot. In the process of slinging, you need to add some medium soil in the bottom of the container, and also some compost or garden waste at the top of the potting mix.

3. Mulching Technique

In addition to these, you can also use the bark of trees as a good mulch. This is a very useful technique of repotting because of the wonderful texture and appearance it adds to the final pot. When you repot a plant that has already been growing in a container, it is always important to remove all the external leaves from the main stem and the branches. This makes it easier for the roots to grow in a horizontal direction, so that the plant has room to grow roots in a natural way.

4. Pinching Technique

Another popular repotting technique for container plants is called pinching. In this method, you take away some of the main stem from the plant. This is usually done by twisting the branches and the main stem until the area becomes quite small. After the roots are able to spread out, you can then remove the excess leaves and other parts of the plant. You should only do this if the plants have not become over-watered or they have not been planting in the soil for a long time.

5. Air-drying Technique

Another repotting technique for container plants is called air-drying. In this method, the soil is moistened with water and the plant is placed in a plastic bag. This bag is then placed into an airing chamber to dry out completely. You can repot the plant in this method if you repot a plant that has not been flowering for at least four weeks. This method is most often used for smaller pots.

6. Using Potting Mix to make Repotting Easier

If you want to repot plants without having to go through the trouble of removing the whole plant, you may choose to use potting mix. You will need to add one part per pound of soil for each pound of plants you want to repot. Repotting pots can be a messy business, but it is possible to use any potting mix that you like. Just make sure that it has good drainage so that your plants don’t end up with standing water in their pots.

7. Check the Soil Before Repotting

You can use your favorite potting soil as well. Just make sure that the potting mix has dried out completely before reporting it. There are some people who like to add potting soil to their pots in preparation for repotting. There is nothing wrong with this practice, but it is not necessary.

8. Conclusion

Repotting the plants is a very useful method for improving plant growth and health by managing them properly. The repotting technique for container plants explained above will be useful if you want to make this task easier for you.