Potting Plants 101: When should you repot your plants?

One of our most frequently asked questions involves repotting. If you’re an anxious plant parent who panics when your plant shows signs of distress, your first instinct may be to repot your plant. While this is a good instinct to have, you should pause to assess just what your plant might be telling you. Let’s talk about a few general signs that your plant is ready for a new pot.

Roots
There are two visible ways for you to tell if the root of your plants problems is in fact the roots. One thing you should know about your plants roots is that they will do whatever it takes to get close to the light. You may notice little white roots poking through the drainage holes of your pot. They’ll even do silly things like grow through a nursery pot! This just means that they were running out of room! If you ignore this for too long, you may start to see roots circling around the top of pot, or pushing your plant out of the soil.

Leaves

Leaves are such an important indicator, but trying to interpret what they’re telling you can sometimes be difficult. It can quickly become overwhelming when trying to determine if this is a sign that your plant needs a soil refresh, so let’s break it down a little.

Yellow leaves: If your plant is displaying almost as many yellow leaves as it is new growth (or more) there’s a good chance it’s telling you that it needs more room. Take note of your recent watering and fertilizing habits, and if those are pretty normal you can rule those out as causes for yellow leaves.

Droopy stems

If your plant is looking a little droopy and sad, this could indicate that it’s ready for a repot. Some common causes for droopy stems are: over watering, under watering, pests, and cramped roots. Check your watering habits, and investigate for pests. Once you’ve ruled these out as causes for your plants droopy stems, you should take a look at the roots. If you’ve recently watered your plant and it doesn’t seem to be absorbed by the roots, your plant is likely root bound.

Waiting too long

As I mentioned before, you’ll notice problems with the roots both on the topsoil and on the bottom of the pot. The soil is also a good indicator that waited too long. It loses nutrients over time, and as a result will lose the ability to hold onto water. You probably won’t be aware of this until you’ve watered the same plant several times within a short period of time. Even bottom watering won’t be enough because the soil just can’t hold on to any water, which will leave your plant super thirsty.

Plant to pot ratio is off

This can work both ways. Your plant can be too big for its pot, and it can be too small for its pot. This can be determined by taking a moment to really look at your plant. It should not exceed the rim of the pot by more than 2 inches. If you can’t solve this by pruning and shaping your plant, you can swap it to a pot that is 1-2 inches larger in diameter. If your plant appears to be way too small in its pot, you can swap it to a pot 1-1/2 inches smaller in diameter.