How To Re-pot Tropical Houseplants

March & April are the months I re-pot my tropicals. I have quite a few houseplants, well over 100 (it's an addiction, I know) so it takes a while to get them all transplanted. And I don't do all of them every year...I'd like to, but I don't.

Over the winter, in the dry heat of our homes, houseplants suffer. The daylight is a lot less than they like and there is no humidity. I do mist them almost daily, and keep some on trays with pebbles, but it's still not ideal conditions for them. In March you should notice some new growth as they are starting to come out of 'hibernation'. 

And sometimes you won't, the plant will have dropped all it's leaves and look dead. Like this hibiscus...

Chances are he's still ok! With your thumbnail, scrape a little bit of a branch. If you see green under the bark, it is still living. 

This is another hibiscus that is already showing signs of life. 

Cut back any dead branches that you can see, and prune if it has branches crossing & rubbing on each other.

With plants that don't loose their foliage, cut back any dead leaves, basically clean up the plant. Here I'm removing dead leaves off the nephthytis. Sorry for the blur...

To get started you will need some basic materials:

Good potting soil (and to add if you want, perlite or vermiculite)
Clean pots
Trowel
Gloves (I usually forget to use them, actually prefer not to)
Pruners
Coffee filters, clay shards, or small stones
MYKE® micorrhiza
Moss, bark chips, decorative stone
Watering can

Ease the plant out of the pot. This is a dracaena in a 4" pot I bought last fall and didn't pot up. As you can see, it is badly pot bound. Dracaenas are rapid growers and it's not uncommon to see them like this in the garden centres.

Gently work the roots apart so they don't continue to grow around themselves.

When re-potting, only go up one pot size. This guy should go in a 6" pot. If you are reusing a pot, be sure to give it a good scrubbing with bleach to get rid of any virus or diseases that could be lingering. And rinse well.

You can use pebbles or broken clay pot shards to cover the drainage holes, but I like to use a coffee filter.

Use a lightweight potting soil, never soil from your garden. I use a good potting mix and add perlite or vermiculite for added drainage. And never use a potting mix that has added fertilizer!! I'll explain in a bit.

Add your soil to the pot, leaving enough room for the plant. Add a product like MYKE®, a micorrhiza, and make sure the roots are in contact with it. Settle the roots in the soil and work them so they are all covered, adding more soil as needed. Do not put the plant deeper than it was in the original pot! You will strangle & suffocate the poor guy.

You can see here I didn't follow my own rule...only going up one pot size. But, I'm going to be adding annuals to make a mixed planter so I needed more room. Yes, I mix my tropicals with annuals and perennials. Why not?

I added moss to the top of the plant, mainly because right now he looks lonely and this will help prevent him from drying out too quickly. Then give it a good watering. And do not fertilize!

Dracaena

I mentioned a product called MYKE®. This is not a fertilizer. MYKE® contains micorrhiza, a fungus naturally found in soil, that has been depleted due to various reasons. Adding this product to the roots and soil around them will aid in the absorption of nutrients from the soil. It is only applied the one time, when first planted. You can read more about it on their website.

I Love MYKE®!! It is an amazing product and I recommend it to everyone planting! (and I am not getting compensation for saying this, it really is beneficial to your plants! Look for it!)

If you are using fertilizers, only ever give your houseplants 1/2 the recommended dosage on the package. The exception to this rule are plants that produce flowers or fruit.

Never fertilize your plants in winter. Start cutting back the dosage in late summer/early fall to 1/4 strength, to no fertilizer in late fall. Most of them go dormant and do not need the extra food. Start fertilizing in late March, or when you see new growth, again 1/2 strength, if you didn't re-pot.

If you have just transplanted, wait a few weeks before using a commercial fertilizer. A stressed plant cannot take up the fertilizer, it will sit unused in the soil.

Never fertilize a plant that is stressed or weak. Treat it with aspirin...yes, aspirin!

Use 1 1/2 of 81mg aspirin diluted in 2 gallons of water. You can also use this solution in a mister and spray the foliage every few weeks.

Bayer

Aspirin has willow in its ingredients which has medicinal benefits for sick plants! Plants under stress from a move will benefit from this watering every couple of days. 

Mixed planter with Rubber Plants & Ivy

Or soak a bunch of willow twigs cut down in a bucket of water for a few days and use it to treat sick plants. The willow is a member of the Salix family, and for centuries has been used in promoting root growth. 

Variegated Boston Fern

Sorry, I went on a little longer than planned, but I want to help you get the best results so you can enjoy your plants for years to come. 

Now, if only spring would hurry up & get here so I can start hardening off my plants to get them ready to enjoy the summer outdoors!

Are you a crazy plant lady like me? How many do you have?

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