Hi Lauren,

As you've found, everybody has their own way of doing it--and after you do it a few times, you will too!

One important thing is don't repot into too big a pot. If there's too much soil without roots in it, it will stay wet too long and you could pretty easily overwater it. General rule of thumb is don't go more than one inch bigger in diameter than the pot it's currently in. Also, be sure the pot you're putting it in has at least one drainage hole in the bottom. Other than that I don't do anything special! I use a good quality (light & fluffy when moist) store-bought potting mix, put a little in the bottom of the new pot, gently remove the plant from the old pot and put it in the new pot and fill in the space around the plant, gently pushing the soil down. Be sure the soil your using is moist. Then water it thoroughly and don't water again till the soil is at least halfway dry. Leaving the soil dry that much will help draw the roots into the new soil as the old soil around the roots dries and they search for moisture. That's all we did at the one garden center I worked at where we were repotting plants all the time.

I don't do anything to loosen up the roots--but everybody has a different opinion about that. If there's a total mass of roots wrapped around the root ball, I'd loosen them up with my fingers and probably cut any really long ones off. I don't put anything in the bottom of the pot unless the hole's so big the soil easily falls out of it. And I don't knock off any old soil unless it's really poor soil and I think the plant will do better with all fresh soil.

When it comes to conflicting advice, though, I don't think posting here is going to help too much! LOL I'm sure other folks who respond to your post will give you different advice than mine, so you're still going to just have to figure out what you want to do. Most plants are pretty resilient, so I recommend just trying whatever "feels right" to you---and I bet it'll work out just fine!

Have fun,
Skybird

Many thanks for your take on the subject. : O )

I suppose you'r right....everyone has their own way. My boyfriends mom puts a coffee filter or ripped jaycloth on the bottom if the soil is at risk of falling out.

As we say here in Montreal - C'est la vie! (That's life!)

In addition to: if there is a network of fleshy leaves (and the soil falls off anyway) you can use a chopstick to GENTLY poke new mix between the roots to reduce the big airspaces. Tapping the pot on the bench helps to settle the mix before watering.

When you water - a plunge in a bucket is useful but keep the leaves out - particularly if they are furry. Let the pot drain well before putting it back on its saucer. For some plants, having little 'feet' under the pot helps the drainage and prevents the roots from rotting.

Some mixtures have a lot of 'fines' in them. A peat-based one can be like this. With watering it tends to close up and pack down - reducing the amount of air available to the roots. It also washes out readily, which is why people use a fine-grain cover over the holes in the pot.

If you put your plants out in the garden for a summer 'holiday' it also helps prevent the arrival of soil animals in your pots.

Many thanks for your advice...

Lauren

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