The mix is ideal, for the growers. It's inexpensive and light. The only problem is that you have to be very careful about overwatering some species of plant but that is easily accomplished with a computer.

Potting media in stores is another matter. That's simple supply and demand. People demand labor savings but don't want to pay for irrigation so they end up with water crystals and a ton of peat.

Another reason to repot plants right away is that it has very likely been in the container too long already and is pot bound. I frequently see woody perennial stock in retail nurseries that have been in the same pot/medium for years. These plants require a major repot with plenty of root correction. Leaving those plants in the pot is just asking for failure.

Makes sense, very logical points. Logic works on my wife. Thank you Nil13

Put it with such eloquence. Thank you Al

Nil made some very good points, not the least of which was the idea that people want and will pay for convenience, even if it's not the better choice or even a good choice. We need only look to fast food and potting soils as confirmation.

Al

I use my judgement. I think about the time of the year. If the plant looks healthy I might wait until Spring to do a repot. If the plant is in a soggy media I would dry it out rather than repot in winter. Its a judgement call whether you can carry the plant through the winter in a healthy condition or repot now and further stress the plant.

The fact that the plant you buy looks healthy is probably due to having been grown in a greenhouse. Greenhouse growing can control the light, water and temperatures. It is obvious that the media did not have a significant affect on the plant. You would not buy an unhealthy plant.

If you can control light, temperature and watering, you can manage the plant over the winter and repot in the Spring which would be optimal.

Its a judgement call.

Jane

A very FEW houseplants, like citrus, e.g., like to be repotted in the spring. The highest % (like 90-95%) of houseplants are best repotted in the month prior to their most robust growth period, which in most cases would be June. Father's Day or the summer solstice are (June 21ish) are days easy to remember and good target days for rewpotting. A week or two before or a week or two after won't matter much, but if I was forced to make a blanket statement, I'd have to say that mid-Jun to very early Jul is the best time to repot houseplants.

Al

I agree with Al, but sometimes that isn't possible. I liked to move my indoor plants outdoors for their summer vacation. As soon as the weather permitted in Spring, I would repot outdoors (usually June in NY). But I did wait for the weather to stabilize.

I would repot any plant indoors over winter if it was absolutely necessary for the plants survival. However, I always tried to carry plants over the winter and repot in Spring when they could spend the summer with increase light and fresh air.

Jane

That it might not be possible to repot in the very late spring or very early summer (around Father's Day) doesn't make early spring a good time to repot. Best is superlative and any other choices would be assigned a lesser degree of comparison. Sort of like, from top to bottom: best, better, good, ok, not very good, poor. Early spring repots rate toward the bottom of the degrees of comparison because, again, the plant is very likely to be at it's lowest energy level of the entire growth cycle after a winter of using more energy than its making. That fact makes recovery from the work painfully slow and makes the plant susceptible to insect infestations and diseases; this, because the plants defense mechanisms are a byproduct of metabolism. A reduction in metabolic rates + a reduction in defenses.

I always suggest waiting until an opportune time to repot unless the plant is obviously circling the drain and about to go down for the count unless the grower intervenes as a last ditch effort; otherwise, it's best to wait until late spring/early summer.

Al

That's exactly what I said. Total agreement with Al.

Jane

I was very specific in what I said. When someone tells growers that spring is a good time to repot, it's in the reader's best interest to qualify the offering so they understand that EARLY spring is actually a poor time to repot, for reasons mentioned above. LATE spring, from the first week of June thru the summer solstice, depending on how far N,S one lives, is MUCH better because of how much energy the plant will have regained after a winter of quiescence, energy the plant can expend to speed the recovery - not to mention that current energy (food) production is at its peak at the summer solstice.

I hope that we're still in full accordance; otherwise, what we said wasn't exactly the same.

Al

I repot anytime the weather warms up and stays that way. If its the beginning of June or the end of June it hasn't mattered. In NY I considered that early spring as it was before the soltice. May was always too unstable in NY. I believe I said that in my previous post.

Jane

Well, I feel stupid. I have been following Logees recommendation on their video to repot as soon as I receive their plants and I have been doing so. I hope they make it.

It's likely that you're only potting up, a much simpler process and less stressful than a true repot which includes a change of soil and usually root pruning of established material - much less to be concerned about.

Al

Thanks, Al.

Keep in mind that commercial growers are about profit, so they don't expend more than they have to.

Most buyers re-pot anyway... whether it's to upgrade pot size, change color or pattern to match home environment, or in my case to ensure the plant is placed in better medium for good root health. I tend to prefer unglazed clay pots for all applications.

I've been growing plants since I was old enough to follow my Grandma around and help her... and I have Grandchildren, now... so, that's a lot of time. Within that time, I've learned quite a bit - with the help of Tapla, here - and in so learning about root health, which is important for plant health, I've learned that peat or coir based soils are way too fine and heavy to allow for the important exchange of oxygen and gases, drainage of excess moisture, and the time period between wet and dry enough is too long - causing some roots to actually drown and die.

There are lots of reasons I've chosen to mix my own medium using fir bark pieces, granite chips, coarse perlite, and turface... in varying ratios depending on plant type, pot size, individual environment, plant needs, and other variables. But it all comes down to the same thing... the health of the plant's roots.

I grow everything from cacti to orchids, bulbs to common houseplant types, all in the same medium... give or take the ratios of the same ingredients. Took me decades to actually learn the simple physics of what happens under the surface of medium, where the roots live, but it's been a journey well worth it.

Great info!!

Here is another to add to the original question??

Why is it that every plant I buy is always root blind, especially gardenia??? Do they literally grow all their plants intros pots until they are root bound them sell them? I don't get it....

MIke

There is a very small window between when a plant is sellable (well rooted in the pot) and pot bound. You don't want 'barely rooted' unless you are going to hold the plant in your nursery for a few weeks.

Now couple that with the economics of potting up and you might end up with retail nurseries holding stock in the same container for more than a season. Then you get some serious root problems.

My thoughts are along the lines of Jodik's - I repot new plants right away (usually) because I expect that the improvement in root health will be much more beneficial then waiting for the optimal time. As Al has mentioned, I do realize that this is stressful on the plant and will set it back in growth in the short term.

On the plus side, new plants are a lot easier to care for when they're in a similar mix (I customize based on species). Knowing the exact root condition is also a big advantage when caring for plants.

Mike - Not sure about you, but sometimes I find the 'ugly' and more unusual plants to be the ones I want. They are often passed up and spend too long in the same pot - I'd rather that than someone else nab a potential addition to my collection. =P