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Cacti & Succulents

OK to repot in November?

16 years ago

I have a small pot of about 10 various cacti I grew from seeds about 10 years ago. This plant had been at my mom's house and I just got it back. I noticed that it is quite pot-bound and a few of the cacti are turning a pinkish color. Should I repot now or wait until spring?

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Comments (6)

dufflebag2002
16 years ago
If they are winter growers. Norma
shrubs_n_bulbs
16 years ago
Cacti. Won't be growing much until spring unless you live way down south. If they're going to grow in winter, repot them now. If they aren't going to grow in winter then nothing to be gained by repotting now but potentially everything to lose.
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This is what it looks like today. It is getting as much sun as possible with the bleak weather we have been having around here recently. I have one of those daylight lightbulbs I could set up near it to help make up for the fact that Mother Nature is being stingy with the sun right now. The roots on it looked good as far as I could tell. There were several long, thick roots and some clusters of tiny fine ones. One of the clusters of fine roots was very tightly packed with the old soil and even with several attempts of soaking it in water and rinsing it I couldn't get it to untangle so I ended up leaving it that way. There didn't appear to be any rotting at all on it, but I did have to trim the long ones a little to get them to fit in the pot without curling. I don't know if this counts as breathing on it, but I do talk to my plants. They are the only living things in my apartment other than myself so I talk to them about all sorts of things.
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emily37
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the tips! I will leave them be until the spring. I wouldn't want to kill them after they've been trying all these years!
xerophyte NYC
16 years ago
As a general rule it is safer to repot at the beginning of the growing season.

But, believe it or not, I personally prefer to repot my cactus plants this time of year because there is not much else to do so it gives me the opportunity to carefully inspect my plants. I always find and kill some pesky mealy bugs.

After repotting dozens if not hundreds of times over the years, I cannot recall any detrimental effects - but I repot into a just barely moist soil mix, and I keep the repotted plants warm for 2 weeks before they go back out into the cold greenhouse, and I do not trim any roots. I also know my plants are healthy. They will be ready to grow and bloom in the spring.

I am not a believer in following age-old mantra that is preached in literature and other reading materials. That is not "scientific". I have experimented with many different techniques. Yes, many a plant has died or suffered in my hands, but that's part of the learning curve and has allowed me to become a better grower.
emily37
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the ideas, xerophyte. One more question-- the plants are all bunched up together and seem crowded-- I grew them from seeds a long time ago and they were never repotted. Is it better to leave them and put them into a smaller pot, or try to spread them out a bit, into a few pots?
xerophyte NYC
16 years ago
Since your plants sound as if they may experience root trauma during the transplant, you should steer away from doing it now and wait until the spring when new roots will recover quickly.

They will grow much quicker in individual small pots rather than bunched together.

Chances are there are many tangled roots, so be careful when you tease them apart.

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