RE-POTTING SEASON HOW TO RE-POT YOUR PLANTS

HOW TO RE-POT YOUR PLANTS

The time has come to start repotting your plants; here are some tips which will help.

What plants to repot?

Pot only those plants where monsoon triggers new growth. Except cactus and succulents and adeniums most of the plants can be repotted now.

Why to repot?

Constituents of a good potting mix –

Fresh garden soil – preferably taken from under a tree with lots of organic mix, sorted and sieved for any seeds of weed grass etc
Good old cow dung manure or vermicompost – it should not smell foul, should be dark and fluffy, should not clump – this also needs to be sorted for any seeds and weed grass etc
Cocopeat – soaked for a day and then water changed three times so that the ph value comes to neutral
Course river bed sand – filtered out via a mosquito mesh, use what is left on top of the mesh – discard what comes from beneath
Broken pieces of terracotta pots or clay pots – to be put at the base of the pot
Charcoal – medium size pieces – as a layer over the broken pieces of terracotta pieces
Bonemeal
Neem Cake – powder – de oiled
Perlite
Vermiculite
Fungicide
Micronutrient
DAP – di ammonium phosphate – adding this will need maturing for 7-10 days
SSP – single super phosphate – adding this will need maturing for 7-10 days
Lindane or malathian dust
Gypsum powder form for area which have hard water or the soil has high ph
Humic acid – liquid or granules

Preparing the pots –

Get your pots washed – terracotta/ceramic/plastic/any other material – wash these in hot water, rinse properly and keep them to dry, clear out drainage holes at the base and make more holes if there is only one, ideal to have at least five holes at the base of the pot one in the center and four on sides
Go for a one size bigger pot if the plant has over grown the pot, its ideal to give ample space on all the sides of the plant in the pot so that the plant gets ample space to grow.

Potting mix

Use the potting mix formulae given in the chart
Keep the mix for maturing for a week or ten days for best results
If anything is not available from the list then increase any of the top 1-4 item proportionally
If you want to use organic options only then use substitutes for inorganic ingredients

Preparing the plant

Water the plant properly a day before repotting.
Tap the plant out slowly and carefully from the pot, do not in any case wrench the plant out from the pot this will cause the roots and in some case stem of the plant to break
Ideal is to tap the pot on a hard surface softly and slowly invert the pot and take the plant out
Now remove carefully any root web which has been formed on the sides – this root web is an indication that the plant is root bond
Do not in any case break the center root ball of the pot
also be very careful in cutting the tap root if it has over grown
care should be taken that more than half of the small roots are left intact
root ball should not be broken at any cost
trimming can also be done with branches etc for the top of the plant, lanky plants should be trimmed to give a more fuller look, use your creativity and shape your plant as per your liking
but do not in any case chop the whole plant off unless ur sure that it will grow back again, this will differ from plant to plant

Potting the plant

After choosing the right pot, check the drainage holes use a layer of terracotta pieces to cover the 5 holes at the base
Cover these terracotta pieces with charcoal, this will allow proper drainage
Fill some of the potting mix at the base and place your plant in the center of the pot
Fill rest of the potting mix on the sides and add more soil to fill the potting mix upto the brim of the pot, ensure that the plant is fixed in the pot properly and would not topple over
Do not leave any space at the top as the soil mix will surely settle and go down

Watering the plant

Make a solution of humic acid @ 5 gram + fungicide @ 5 gram in a liter of water
Use this fungicide humic acid mix to Water the plant lightly at first then properly so that the soil mix gets settled in the pot
If the level goes down too much or the plant tries to topple over add more potting mix water again
Ensure that excess water is draining out from the holes beneath the pot

Placement and post potting care

Place the plant in a semi shade area, do not expose to hot sun in any case for the initial 2 weeks
you can add Leca balls, hydroton, stone chips (not marble chips) at the top to cover the mud, this will save the mud from overflowing and also save your floors from getting dirty
drainage tray could also be used under the pot to collect excess water
if your plant is a sun loving plant then u can shift it from semi shade to full sun over a month
do not keep the pot where water gets logged
monsoon rain will benefit the plant and give it good growth
start with feeding the plant after you see new growth
feeding for the growth period is done with balanced npk 20-20-20 @ 2 gram per liter every
fungicide is given with npk @ 5 gram per liter of water
micronutrient is given once a month @ 1 gram per liter of water

GENERAL POTTING MIX FORMULAE