Take the plant out of its pot and gently pull any encircled roots away from the plants. Then set the root ball in the bucket of water. Let it soak for anywhere from 30 seconds to three minutes—or until air bubbles stop coming out of it. This deep hydration actually reverses the plant's hydrophobia.
You can either go for the bath method and bottom water, or thoroughly top water. 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.
This soaking will hydrate plants to twice their weight and will provide 30 days of water in the new planting, thus greatly reducing the stress associated with the drying of soil around the roots shortly after planting.
All you need to do is set the potted plant (be sure it has drainage holes) into the bathtub, sink, or another container that's filled with a couple inches of water. After 15 to 20 minutes, the plant will have absorbed the exact amount it needs—never too little or too much.
Soaking Your Bare Root Plant
Before planting, you'll need to soak the roots for at least 2 hours and up to 8 to 12 hours, but no longer than 24 hours maximum. This is an important step because it will allow the roots to re-hydrate and absorb water.
Keep bareroot plants damp after their arrival.
Check the packing material frequently: If it's moist, then so are the roots. If it's dry, the roots are also dry, and you should set them in a bucket of water for several hours before planting to rehydrate them.
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.
When you're preparing your garden beds for a new season, don't rip your plants out of the ground, roots and all. If you do, you'll be robbing your soil microbes of a good meal and degrading your long-term soil fertility.
Roots packed tightly in a pot don't take up nutrients efficiently. To promote good nutrient absorption, trim the roots and loosen up the root ball before replanting. Use a sharp knife or pruning shears for this job, removing as much as the bottom third of the root ball if necessary.
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.
Allow for Good Soil Drainage
For container plants, potting soil should be used and pots must have drainage holes. Any saucers below houseplants should be emptied regularly and plants need to be potted in appropriately sized, not oversized, containers to avoid an excess of moisture in the soil.
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 may appear wilted and thirsty, but take care to refrain from watering until about a week after re-potting to ensure that any roots damaged during re-potting have healed. During the recovery period, place plants in a cooler, shadier spot. Most potting soil contains fertilizer.
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.
Rooting will generally occur in 3-4 weeks but some plants will take longer. When the roots are 1-2 inches long or longer the cutting is ready to be potted up. This plant has heavy rooting and is ready to be moved to a pot with potting soil.
Coffee grounds can be used to add nutrients to the soil, but only certain types of plants like high acidity, like azaleas. So be careful not to add too much. Can you reuse soil with roots? Yes you can reuse soil with roots in it.
Maybe the pot is too small for it. Perhaps the soil needs to be changed. There might be a pest or disease problem. Plants need water; If they don't have enough water, they can't take up nutrients from their soil, which means they'll wilt and become sick.
A plant which is newly dug up and shifted to another place may show signs of wilting leaves, dying branches or it might die altogether. It is called transplant shock. The transplant shock is caused by harm to the plant roots during the transplanting process.
If your plant's roots are getting too big for its container but you cannot move it to a larger pot, you'll need to prune it by hand. Some plants are more sensitive to having their roots disturbed, so it's a good idea to look up specific instructions before root pruning houseplants and other ornamentals.
Even so called safe soaps like Castile soap and liquid hand soap can be harmful to plants. They probably harm roots less than leaves, but insecticidal soap is the best. If you want to use something else, stay away from dish soaps and use a liquid hand soap. Place the plant in the soapy water and soak for 20 minutes.
Soak the root ball.
Before you plant, fill a 5-gallon bucket with water, then submerge your plant (still in its nursery pot) into the water until it's fully saturated.