The golden rule for house plant care is to repot them once a year. Times of seasonal change signal the best opportunity for repotting most house plants. September starts a slowdown and March (late February) a re-awakening period for your house plants. Most, but not all plants, should be re-potted in one of these periods.

 

Purchase a good “house plant” mix (soil-less media) from a local garden shop. Brand is unimportant, although a really “cheap” mix under $3.00 a bag  is suspicious from a quality standpoint. The good mix should contain sphagnum peat moss, composted bark, and  perlite (or styrafoam). Some manufacturers add vermiculite for improved moisture retention. Specialty mixes should be purchased  for cacti and for orchids.

 

Re-pot plant(s) into the next larger-sized container (measured as pot diameter). For example, 4 ” plant would be shifted into a 5″ pot or 10″ plant into a 12″ pot. Pot may be clay, ceramic or plastic. It is easiest to maintain all your house plants in one type of pot. You may choose to root and shoot prune to keep the plant in the same container.

 

Partially fill the new pot with potting media. Pry the plant out of the old pot with a knife or thin screwdriver. Gently remove loose soil around the roots and place in a new pot. Slowly work in the new potting soil around to edges. Loosely fill soil to almost the top of pot lip. Watering soil eliminates air pockets and settles the media around roots. Add additional soil as needed.

 

Finally, do not save unused potting soil more than six months. The “wetting agent” additive has lost its activity. Dispose of the soil in a garden bed and purchase a fresh potting mix.