Potting on.

Hi All,

I have some Dianthus Artic Fire in 9cm pots and want to move them into 13cm pots. Do I need to get as much of the old compost off the roots or just bung the whole thing into the new pot wihth fresh compost?

Rusty

 

I would try to keep as much of the soil around their roots as you can and drop them into the new compost. Unless of course there is something wrong with the soil they are currently in of course? No I would fill the larger pot with soil hollow out roughly the same size hole as the pot they are currently in and then gently tap them out of their current pot and place them carefully into the hole in the new pot and then firm them down carefully. Job done!

 

Hi Rusty.

IMHO it does no harm to remove a lot of the old, spent compost from the roots, especially if it`s gotten a little pot-bound. Without stating the obvious, taking care with the root system.

I reckon the more fresh compo` you can get in the pot, the better. This is my basis for house plants.

I guess you are just potting yours on to eventually go in the garden, so............

as Moyra says , if the soil is still fresh, just drop it in the hole.

 

The reason I say keep as much soil as possible is not only so that the roots are not damaged but also even if the soil they are in is spent then the roots will go seeking the nutrients in the fresh soil around thus growing and developing as they go!

 

Unless the current pot is crammed with roots I would pot on with as little disturbance as possible. I use an empty pot, of same size as the original plant's pot, and fill the new container under-and-round the "template" pot (it is not necessary to fill around the template to the top, but enough that there is a clear shape to put the plant into), gently firm the soil (only enough so it does not cave in when I remove the Template), remove the Template, knock the plant out of its old pot, gently"drop" in to the hole, push it down a bit so it is well seated, and then top up with compost as required - e.g. if the surround to the template was only half filled, or if a bit more compost is needed to get the final level correct.

Don't plant the rootball deeper than it was, unless you know that the plant variety will tolerate that (Tomatoes will, most woody plants won't)

If the rootball is crammed with roots, and they have been circling around inside the pot, then it pays to gently tease them apart and splay them out as the plant is repotted, otherwise they are likely to carry on swirling round-and-round.