Repotting Succulents

Every spring I go through my garden and see which succulents need to be repotted. Even though they are slow growers in general, and can handle being root bound to a degree, sooner or later they need bigger pots.

Sometimes, a dish garden runs wild and the more agressive plants have to be moved to their own pots.

So here are some photos of the repotting I did today. One of the plants was so root bound, I had to cut off the plastic pot as best I could. And I lost some of the root system, but I'm pretty sure it will be okay.

1. Gather the plants that need repotting.

2. Gather spare pots to put the new plants in. Re-use the older pots for smaller plants or cuttings once you remove the overgrown plant. Scrub the debris off of the pots if necessary.

3. Water everything in advance to make it easier to remove them from the pot.

4. Cover drainage holes with a mesh screen, some broken shards of pottery or small stones.

5. Fill half the pot with potting mix made especially for succulents, or mix your own with half potting soil and half sand.

6. Carefully remove plants from pots. Divide the plants if necessary.

7. Place plants in new pot and carefully arrange the roots over the soil and fill in with more soil.

8. Water gently to settle soil.

9. Stake if necessary until roots grab the soil in a few weeks or a month or two.

10. Place in filtered sunlight so plants can get used to their new pot. At first they will be wobbly and facing the wrong way, but in a few days they will stand up proud again.