How to Know When Your Plant Needs a Bigger Home

"How to know when to repot a plant?” Well, knowing when a plant needs repotting is a task in itself, and almost all gardening beginners struggle to determine the right time to move their plant into a bigger pot.  

Repotting literally means replanting plants from one container to another. Container-grown plants occasionally require repotting as they tend to outgrow and become root-bound (also called pot-bound) their pots leading to a lack of soil and nutrients.  Plants are generally repotted for two main reasons either to encourage healthy growth by sizing up the pot or for planting them into a nicer container. Outside of these reasons, repotting your plant unnecessarily can cause way more damage than good. 

Usually, small, rapidly growing plants require repotting into larger containers every four to five months. You can repot mature houseplants on an annual basis or allow them to remain in containers until they have outgrown them or become pot-bound. If a plant is not doing well, and no obvious reason can be found, it may benefit from repotting.  

Check your plants once in a while for the following signs, and if it's close to being pot-bound or root-bound, it may be time for your plant to move into a bigger home! 

Here are 5 signs that your plant needs to be repotted-

Sign 1- Roots protruding from the bottom of the pot: If you see a lot of roots coming out through drainage holes which indicates that the plant is pot-bound and it is looking for a new pot. Plants become pot bound when their roots are prevented from further growth by the pot barrier and compact masses of roots get entangled around the root ball.

Sign 2- Plants growing slower than normal: One of the first indicators is the plant’s health declining, characterized by some nutrient deficiencies like yellowing, crumbling, or dropping of both new and old leaves leading to slower growth than usual, especially during growing seasons. This happens due to lack of soil and nutrients as pot-bound plants tend to have more roots than soil. So, they do not get the proper amount of nutrients to grow and thrive.   

Sign 3- Plant extremely top-heavy and falls over easily: Plants out-grown too tall for their pot size usually tend to tip over easily. When above-ground parts of the plant take up more than three times the pot space,  this indicates that your plant might be terribly pot-bound and dying for a bigger pot! Large container plants should be repotted every two years. This prevents the plant from becoming pot-bound. 

Sign 4- Soil dries out quickly: When you find that the soil dries out more quickly than usual, requiring more frequent waterings. This happens when there’s not enough soil to absorb or catch the water. Plants show sick appearance like wilting or drooping as they are not able to draw enough water from the soil. If you see these signs, your plants likely need repotting. 

Sign 5- Roots forcing the plant up and out of the planter: When plants grown in containers,  expand their roots outward from the bottom and sides of the plant, encircling the pot from inside and forming a dense mass of roots that eventually takes over the container and pushes the plant up and out of the planter indicating that the plant badly needs a bigger pot. 

How Do You Know When a Plant Needs a Bigger Pot?-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj1T893_pS8 

Sure signs plant needs a bigger pot-  https://shorturl.at/iVX68 

Photo by Jadan Falk