The task of indoor plants in the house is to decorate housing with their appearance, to create a special atmosphere of comfort. For this, we are ready to take care of them regularly. Leaving is not only about watering on time, although this is also important. It is necessary to create other conditions: suitable lighting, humidity and air temperature, to make a correct and timely transplant. For experienced flower growers, there is nothing supernatural about this. But beginners, transplanting plants, often face certain difficulties. In this article, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the five main rules for spring transplanting indoor plants.
5 main rules for transplanting indoor plants in spring
1. The right time for transplant
Spring is the best time to transplant indoor plants. Gradually, but already noticeably, the day is increasing, and the sun is no longer just shining, but hot. Indoor plants gradually come out of dormancy and prepare for the growing season.
Some flowers need replanting annually – these are young or fast growing plants. Young plants need new, not depleted land and a more spacious capacity for growth. The same applies to fast-growing specimens, which manage to “outgrow” the pot in a year, and the roots, breaking through the drainage holes, form a ring under the bottom of the pot.
Adult indoor plants that have already reached their peak and stalled in growth do not need an annual transplant. If such a flower looks good and blooms regularly, and its roots do not knock out of the pot, in spring it is enough to replace the top layer of earth for it. To do this, use a spoon or a special spatula to remove the soil and add new soil.
These plants include indoor palms. They need regular transplants only in the first years, rather even transshipments, since the roots of the palm tree react very painfully to intervention. As soon as the palm tree has received its maximum pot-tub, it can be transplanted further once every 6-8 years, subject to regular feeding and renewal of the top layer of the earth.
Many types of cacti do not need a spring transplant. It is better to handle these plants, without destroying the earthy coma, and it is advisable to do this closer to winter.
No need to replant plants during flowering. Many flowering ones even react to a change of position – they shed buds and flowers, and transplanting for them is a real stress. Therefore, it is better to wait until the end of flowering – then you can already transplant and cut off all unnecessary.
2. The best way to transplant
There are several methods of transplantation, and in order for the procedure to be successful, it is necessary to correctly determine what exactly a particular flower needs.
- Conventional transplant – the plant is removed from the pot, if possible, cleaned of old soil and planted in new soil. Especially at the same time they are not zealous – they shocked that it fell off itself, then it’s good. This method can be applied to many healthy indoor plants that can easily be transplanted.
- Transplant with complete soil replacement – this method is usually used if the plant is sick or the conditions of detention have been violated: prolonged overflow and hypothermia. Soil pests are another reason for complete land replacement. With such a transplant, the plant is removed from the pot, completely cleaned of soil and the roots are washed with water. Spoiled and rotten roots are cut out, and the plant is placed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20-30 minutes.
- Transshipment – the plant is carefully removed from the pot and, without shaking off the soil, is transferred to a larger container. The voids around the edges are filled with fresh substrate. An important feature of the transshipment is the preservation of the earthen lump. And they use this method, transplanting capricious plants – araucaria and other conifers, palms, aspidistra. Also, transshipment is sometimes necessary when growing flowers from seeds. As the seedlings grow, they are repeatedly transferred into larger containers. And since the root system is not disturbed, the seedlings do not experience stress from transplanting and continue to develop normally.
When transferring, the plant is carefully removed from the pot and, without shaking off the soil, is transferred to a larger container. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com balconygardenweb
3. Correct soil
The result of transplanting indoor plants largely depends on how correctly the substrate was selected. It’s no secret that all our plants are from the wild and they grew in different climatic conditions, on different soil.
To avoid mistakes, the easiest way is to buy a ready-made substrate at a flower shop. Today, different manufacturers offer soil for many groups of plants – for palms and dracaena, cacti and succulents, for orchids, violets, azaleas and many others.
If you could not find the necessary soil mixture on sale, you can prepare it yourself, taking as a basis universal soil or leafy soil. What to consider when composing a mixture:
- Cacti и Succulents do not need fertile soil, but air permeability is of great importance for them. Therefore, coarse river sand and vermiculite can be added to the universal soil in a ratio of 2: 1: 1. For forest cacti – universal soil and vermiculite 2: 1, no sand added.
- Palm trees for good growth, loose, breathable soils are needed and a mixture of garden or leaf soil, turf, peat or coconut substrate and perlite in a ratio of 2: 2: 1: 1 is suitable for them. With age, part of the land is increased, and less peat and perlite are added.
- Ferns in nature, they are most often epiphytes and need loose fertile soil. For the mixture, you can take universal soil, humus or vermicompost, peat and vermiculite in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1.
- Philodendron, Monstera, Anthurium and other related plants will appreciate a mixture of leafy soil, turf and peat, taken in equal amounts. For looseness, you can add sphagnum moss and crushed coal.
- Saintpaulia, or Usambara violet prefers slightly acidic soil, so the mixture is prepared on the basis of peat with the addition of vermiculite, sphagnum moss and crushed coal.
- For plants of the family bromeliads – pineapple, bilbergia, pandanus, etc., you can prepare the soil from universal soil and a mixture for orchids 1: 1.
If leaf or turf soil is used to prepare the substrate, it must be disinfected. The easiest way is to pour the soil into a metal container and warm it up in the oven. Such a measure will save indoor plants from the appearance of possible diseases and pests.
4. Correct pot
The success of a pot transplant depends a lot on the right pot. Which is better – plastic or clay? This question is asked by many growers. There is no fundamental difference here, but you need to take into account that the soil dries faster in an ordinary clay pot than in a plastic or ceramic one covered with glaze, which means that you will have to water the flowers more often.
In stores today you can find pots of any shape and size, but what you need to pay attention to:
- Cacti and succulents it is advisable to choose shallow wide containers – their root system is poorly developed and they do not need large containers;
- Plants that reproduce with the help of the appearance of offspring and new rosettes (ferns, bromeliads, reo), wide pots are also needed;
- Palm trees have a powerful root system that goes deep, and they need deep enough containers.
The general rule of thumb when choosing a pot for any plant is to be guided by today’s flower size. The new container should be 2-3 cm larger in diameter than the previous one. This approach will eliminate problems with soil acidification, which often happens if the pot is taken large, for growth.
If transplanting takes place on existing pots, they must be washed with a sponge with warm water and detergent.
The new container should be 2-3 cm in diameter larger than the previous one
5. Drainage
When choosing a pot, you need to pay attention to the drainage holes – very often they are too small. You can enlarge them yourself with a knife or a drill, but this must be done, otherwise the small holes will quickly clog and stop letting excess water through.
Souring of the soil and rotting of the roots often occurs for this very reason, and the result is deplorable – the plant disappears. Ceramic pots cannot easily enlarge the holes, so it is better to pay attention to this when buying.
A prerequisite for a correct transplant is drainage. Contributing to the better passage of excess water, it protects the earth from caking and souring, providing air for the roots. The drainage layer should be at least 1/5 of the height of the pot and preferably more than less.
For this purpose, anything that will facilitate the smooth passage of water is suitable – expanded clay, pieces of coal, large river pebbles, chipped bricks, clay shards from old pots and even pieces of foam. The latter is used in exceptional cases when there is nothing else. Plant roots often grow through chunks of styrofoam and this can be difficult for subsequent transplants. In the flower departments, ready-made drainage is sold, consisting, as a rule, of fine expanded clay or vermiculite.
Dear readers! Transplanting is one of the prerequisites for growing indoor plants. Each flower needs its own approach, so it is important to pay attention to the composition of the soil, and to the size and shape of the pot, to the time and method of transplanting. Studying your plants, learning information about where and in what conditions their free relatives grow, you can easily provide your plants with everything they need. In this case, the transplant will not stress the flowers, but, rather, on the contrary, will give an impetus to growth and flowering.
