Water thoroughly after repotting to help the soil settle around your plant's roots. Plenty of moisture will also help your plant recover from the move better. If you have a saucer under the pot, make sure to empty it, so your plant doesn't get too soggy.
Right after repotting
I prefer to give plants a bath (bottom water) as step one, a day or two before I repot, then I like to thoroughly top water drench after repotting, as top watering also helps flush out excess dirt and silt from the new substrate.
Repotting Plants: How to Do It
Make sure the plant is well watered 2-4 days in advance. You don't want to repot when it's sopping wet but being too dry will cause stress. Take the plant out of the pot. If the rootball is a bit tight, gently massage the roots to loosen them up.
Remove about one-third or more of the old potting mix surrounding the plant's roots. As it grew, your plant removed some or all of the nutrients in the current mix, so you'll want to give it fresh potting mix or soil. Pour a layer of fresh potting soil into the empty planter and pack it down, removing any air pockets.
A common reason is that the potting mix has dried out and isn't absorbing the water. Most commercial potting mixes contain peat, which holds water well once it has been moistened, but -- as everyone who works with sphagnum peat outdoors knows -- is difficult to wet the first time.
Repotting or transplant shock is a state of stress some plants experience after they're moved from one pot to another. It can manifest in a number of different ways, but there are a few key signs.
Plants and trees can experience transplant shock for two weeks to five years. It is more likely that the plant will die if the transplant shock persists for a long time.
Transplant shock is water stress and making sure the newly planted roots can take up enough water from the first moment is essential. Lastly, be careful to repot in a temperate weather period. Don't do it when it's hot and dry or very cold for a longer period.
Pot Size Is Linked to Growth
Potting up (moving a plant to a larger pot) tends to encourage it to grow faster and become larger. It's the sort of thing you do to a younger plant, sometimes more than once a year.
Loosening the root ball when repotting is only essential when the plant has become completely root bound. In cases where they are not completely rootbound, you may be able to plant directly into the next pot. If the roots are not wrapped tightly around each other, there is no need to cut and disturb them.
How do I treat transplant shock? Keep it well watered: During the growing season, newly planted and transplanted trees require supplemental water besides just rain. Find out all you need to know about watering here! Mulch: Organic mulch helps soil retain moisture, keeps weeds away, and provides trees with nutrients.
Transplant shock is a term that refers to a number of stresses occurring in recently transplanted trees and shrubs. It involves failure of the plant to root well, consequently the plant becomes poorly established in the landscape.
The telltale signs of shock are yellowing or brown wilted leaves that droop drastically. Often a stressed plant becomes very delicate and the leaves easily fall off, if touched or bumped.
How to Avoid Transplant Shock. Disturb the roots as little as possible – Unless the plant is root bound, you should do as little as possible to the rootball when moving the plant from one location to the next. Do not shake the dirt off, bump the rootball, or rough up the roots.
Sugar water does not do anything to help plants with transplant shock, and it can make it worse. Often, plants recover on their own. Just give them time, keep them well-watered and protect them from too much sun to prevent more leaf scorch.
When you see an entirely yellow leaf, you should remove it from your plant using a sterile cutting tool. Removing the leaf will let the plant focus its nutrients on healthy leaves. A yellow leaf has lost its chlorophyll (pigment) and it can't turn green again even after you correct the problem.
If you plant a pot-bound plant into the ground or into another pot without first loosening the tangled and overgrown roots, they will continue to grow in a circle rather than reaching out into the soil to anchor the plant.
It may take a few days to adjust, but your plant will soon settle into its roomier digs and produce new growth again. And not only does repotting root-bound plants freshen up your greenery, but it's also an opportunity to update your decor with a stylish container.
The best time to repot a plant is in the spring so that actively growing roots will have enough time to grow into newly added potting mix. There are several signs that houseplants can exhibit when they are pot-bound. First check the frequency you are watering the houseplant.
To speed recovery, keep them quite moist and out of the sun for two days and then give filtered sun or half-day sun for two days. After that, they should be ready for bright light. Below we've mapped out additional care tips to follow after transplanting your seedlings from indoors to outdoors.