Transplanting indoor plants, how to properly transplant an indoor flower

Periodically, any houseplant needs to be transplanted into new soil so that it can grow further. Indeed, along with the growth of the plant, its roots grow, "sucking" all the useful substances from the soil and resting on the walls of the pot.

When is the best time to replant plants

In order to find out when to transplant indoor flowers and whether there is a need for this, you should look at a couple of external factors that can manifest themselves if the plant already needs a transplant.

Indoor plant transplant process

It is worth paying attention to:

• The soil dries out too quickly after watering. This indicates that the root system has grown very much and a larger capacity is needed.
• Drainage holes - If roots are poking out through them, this is a sign that a larger pot is needed.
• Lack of growth or its strong deceleration.
• The appearance of diseases in a plant.
• Deterioration of the soil quality in the pot.
• Depressive condition of the root system.

It is important to remember that plants are best transplanted at certain times, otherwise there is a risk of damaging the flower.

For example, it is worth changing the soil for recently purchased plants, but not immediately after purchase, but after a couple of weeks or a month. Because the plant has already experienced a lot of stress and climate change.

When can you transplant indoor flowers by the seasons

As for the right time of year for transplanting, representatives of botanical sciences recommend replanting plants in mid-spring, that is, at the end of March, in April, or at the beginning of May. Winter is the worst time of the year for soil renewal. In no case should you transplant flowers in January or December; in February, the procedure is carried out in exceptional cases.

Also, you should not engage in soil renewal if the plant begins to bloom (as a rule, this happens in the summer, in June or July), it is better to postpone this matter for later.

Experts advise adhering to a specific plant transplant cycle, as follows:

• Long-lived flowers should be transplanted at least 1 time over 2 years.
• Indoor plants are quite unpretentious and require transplanting every 3 years.
• Well, cacti and their cousins ​​can be in the same container for more than 5 years.

For full compliance with all the nuances, you can also resort to the lunar calendar. After all, plants are very whimsical creatures and perceive any external influences.

The lunar calendar for May 2020 will tell you favorable days for transplants

How to choose the right transplant pot

On the modern gardening market, there is simply a huge variety of varieties of pots for every taste and color, any material and shape.

When choosing a new pot for a plant, you need to adhere to the basic rules:

• The new container should be slightly larger than the previous pot, by about 2-3 cm.Do not give the plant too much free space, otherwise it will direct its forces to fill the space with roots, and the shoots will recede into the background.
• It is best to choose light-colored pots for plants, otherwise the flower may heat up too much in the rays of the sun.

Transplanting is necessarily accompanied by disinfection of the pot.

Ceramic or plastic

Ceramic containers are famous for the fact that they allow air to pass through and absorb moisture better, and their advantage is that they do not suffer from rapid freezing or heating. But the disadvantage of such containers is that they are very fragile and quite expensive. Before planting a plant in a clay pot, it is best to moisten the walls of the container with water, because clay, as mentioned above, absorbs moisture very well.

Plastic Plant Pots

Plastic pots, on the other hand, are famous for being very lightweight yet durable. At the same time, they do not absorb moisture and it becomes much easier to fill the plant with water. In general, plastic is a cheaper material than ceramic. Actually, it also looks cheap, which repels many.

Preparation of drainage and earthen mixture

A good earthen mixture is the key to the successful and healthy growth of indoor plants. The type of mixed soil depends on the specific plant for which it is intended.

Classic earthy mix

For many plants, a classic soil mix will work. The so-called "mix" of leafy earth or humus, garden soil, peat and river sand. All "ingredients" are mixed in equal amounts to each other, that is, 25 percent each.

If problems arise with river sand, you can easily replace it with perlite. Botanists recommend adding a little expanded clay to the resulting soil, after which everything needs to be mixed. This soil is suitable for any ficuses and other indoor plants.

Fern soil mix

Fern soil differs from the classic one in that it must have an acidic environment.

It usually consists of leafy earth (1/4 of the total volume) and humus (1/4). The remaining 50 percent is covered by heather soil. To all this, you need to add a little hydrogel so that the moisture does not stagnate.

Earthen mixture for succulents

A characteristic feature of such soil is that moisture inside it should not stagnate. Succulents are very sensitive to soil and therefore must be very carefully compiled.

River sand will take up about 1/3 of the entire mixture, the other third will be occupied by compost, and finally, the remaining part is divided in half by perlite and peat.

Drainage

A well-designed drainage during transplantation is the key to good flower growth, there is nothing difficult in this.

It is best to use pebbles, gravel or expanded clay as drainage, and the whole thing is seasoned with vermiculite and agroperlite for better moisture transmission through the soil.

Drainage for indoor plants

How to transplant flowers at home correctly

Transplanting a plant is, in principle, easy, but not everyone succeeds in doing it correctly, taking into account all the factors. The greatest role in this matter is played by the land. After all, it depends on her whether the flower will bloom and smell, or it will start to hurt or die.

Removing a plant from a pot

To remove a flower from a pot, you need to make sure that the earthy ball is moist and viscous. This will be the easiest way to remove the plant from the pot.

To pull out a flower, you need to skip the crown of the plant between your fingers and, holding the soil, remove the lump, pressing on the sides of the container if the pot is made of plastic.

If not, then you need to tap the walls of the pot with progressive light movements, turning it around its axis, and then try to knock on the bottom of the container.

Removing a plant from a pot

Inspection and pruning of the root system

It is worth cutting off the roots of the transplanted flower only as a last resort, if the root system is sick and there are affected areas. After trimming, it is better to process the cut sites with crushed activated carbon.

Post-transplant care requirements

The flower after transplantation requires a rather reverent attitude towards itself. Its condition must be constantly monitored, sprayed with water from time to time, look at how the plant behaves, whether growth is observed, etc.

You can spray the transplanted flower every 7 days with a special preparation called Zircon. It helps to reduce stress on the plant and to strengthen its root system.

Watering should be carried out less frequently than usual, so that the root system strengthens and grows further, while in search of moisture.

Difficult emergency transplant

A difficult emergency transplant of home flowers is a forced measure caused by acidification of the soil in the flower pot, rotting roots or severe damage to the plant.

Before resorting to this measure, you need to try all possible ways to save a flower, apply insecticides, other drugs, dry an earthen ball, etc.

It is worth remembering that such a transplant is very dangerous for a plant and can both help it and finally destroy it.

If all else fails, but you really want to save the flower, then a complex emergency transplant is the only option. The procedure for preparing a plant for an emergency transplant:

1. You need to remove the plants from the pot.
2. Rinse the roots of the plant, until the smallest particles of contaminated soil are removed.
3. Tap the substrate.
4. After removing all the soil, a complete inspection of the plant is required in order to remove (cut off) the affected parts in the presence of infected and diseased roots.
5. When trimming each affected area with a clean knife, it is necessary to cover the cut with crushed coal.
6. After removing all diseased roots, it is best to put the rhizome in warm water for half an hour.
7. Next comes the process of disinfecting the root of the flower with a fungicide or potassium permanganate, by placing the plant in such a solution for 40-60 minutes.
8. Disinfected roots should be treated with crushed coal.

Extensive root system view

After completing all of the above procedures, the flower can be transplanted into a new container, this must also be done following a few rules:

• The presence of a new clean pot, treated with boiling water and a solution of potassium permanganate.
• A new drain should be laid at the bottom of the container, sprinkled with sand on top.
• After preparing the pot, you need to plant the flower itself.
• The roots are neatly detangled and placed evenly in the pot.
• After a complete neat planting, the earth is filled up.
• The flower is placed in a dark corner with normal room temperature.

After a period of adaptation, the flower can be transferred to its previous care, but not immediately. It is worth starting to feed the plant after the first signs of its growth appear.

Timely caring for a pet "pet" can prevent any illness and the need for an emergency transplant will not arise at all.

Plant transshipment as a method of transplanting

Transshipment is another way of replanting home flowers. Its characteristic feature is that it is suitable only for flowers with a closed root system.This method of transplanting allows the least damage to the roots of the plant and therefore it was nicknamed - sparing.

The transshipment process has several steps:

1. Preparing the seat. The new pot should be only slightly larger than the previous one (about 2-3 cm). You should not immediately choose a large container, because the flower may die due to the fact that the root system does not have time to completely grow into the ground and it will turn sour.
2. Disinfect the new pot with boiling water.
3. After laying a small drainage, crushed stone or pebbles are best suited for these purposes.
4. Then sprinkle with soil, about one third of the total volume.
5. The plant is carefully removed from the previous container and planted in a new pot, sprinkling with soil along the way.
6. This is followed by watering.

It should be remembered that the roots of the plant should not be outdoors for a long time, because this can lead to harmful consequences.

Transplant instruments and materials

There is no universal set of instruments for transplantation; many use improvised means.

Usually, when transplanting, you need clean containers, pots or containers, and you may also need a knife, scissors, and baking powder. Well, of course, during transplantation, fresh soil and material for drainage are simply needed.

Some positions can be optionally supplemented, but in general, such a set of tools is quite enough.

Plant Transplant Tool Kit

What to do if a transplant is not possible

In exceptional cases, it will not work to transplant your favorite plant. Perhaps the flower is simply huge or very sick, and the transplant can make it worse.

In such cases, you can try changing only the top of the potting soil. This should be done to the extent that the size of the pot allows. Such a change in soil, albeit minor, can have a positive effect on the growth and recovery of the plant.

As mentioned earlier, transplanting indoor plants is not the easiest process as it seems at first glance. But delving a little into the nuances that can be encountered during this lesson, it becomes clear that you need to approach this matter extremely carefully and responsibly.