I'm not sure where you live, but anywhere that might be it's to be expected that repotting at this time of year is going to result in a bad reaction from your plants. All of those plants would appreciate being established in a good soil or being repotted in spring. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, disregard what I said, but I suspected you don't because you're using FP. Sorry about the setback, but as long as they don't collapse, they'll eventually recover and start pushing healthy new growth.

Al

I'm on the coastal part of Los Angeles. Highs right now in the low to mid 70s. Any higher temps I will try to provide some shade if and when they do show signs of wilt/stress. I couldn't resist and did disect a few plants' containers-healthy looking new white root growth is sprouting. Thank you for all your knowledge, i'm excited in my hopes of becoming a better gardener.

i'm in los angeles and i repot anytime of year. i just repotted a money tree and it's doing well. i've also repotted in october, november and december - never lost a plant.

los angeles has a long growing season and those rules don't necessarily apply to us.

So you're saying that it makes no difference when you repot because you live where the growing season is longer than it is in MI or WA? Are you suggesting that plants don't react to changes in photo-period in the vicinity of LA? The anecdote that you've never lost a plant is just that, an anecdote. If I said I drive my car down the highway at 70 mph on glare ice and I've never had an accident, would you consider the practice to be reasonable and that my tale serves as a clarion call for others to follow? Any plant that changes with the seasons will have times during the annual growth cycle that are either better or worse than other times during that same cycle. What I'm suggesting is a rule of thumb that reasoning people can use to decide when their plants are best able to tolerate the stress of repotting. That your plants didn't die when you repotted them, IF you actually repotted them and didn't just simply pot up, can't even be considered as marginally supportive of the conclusion that when you repot doesn't matter. If you whack your finger with a hammer but don't die, I think it probably still matters.

Al

i am saying, pretty plainly, that in los angeles a person can repot at practically anytime of the year.

you can suggest a rule of thumb, but remember your rule of thumb is also based on a specific time and place.

my rule of thumb is also based on a specific time and place -- mine -- in los angeles.

and in most of southern california, the growing season is long - feb/mar to oct/nov.

when temperatures are in the 80s in december, i say repot your plants. some of my plants have a super active growth period april-july, but that is turbo-charged growth. some slow down, but still grow a lot, esp. compared to other places, oct-jan. my prayer plant has been blooming and putting out leaves like crazy since feb. -- it's not stopping. and some of my other plants seem to be ramping up for some growth right now - a few of my hoyas in particular.

i do not base all of my gardening decisions on hard 4-season thinking about growing things. i have bright, brilliant (often white) light pretty much year round.

we have a change of season, but it's mild, esp. with the drought. trees outside will lose some of their leaves and grow them back in the spring, flowers too. we have global warming -- certain ideas about growing things might have to change.

but it's gonna be warm (75-85 deg) in l.a. through november, so repot if you have to -- i don't hesitate to, unless i'm just putting it off.

But you can repot at any time of the year at the north and south poles, too. No matter how hard you try, you're not going to convince a thinking person that it doesn't matter when you repot. Even if you grew a plant in the perfect temperature and provided the perfect light load all year long, it's natural tendency to grow more robustly in the summer is going to make summer a better time to repot, even in LA. Everyone is free to believe what they wish, but there is no logical basis for the claim that when you repot doesn't matter. It might not matter quite as much in LA as in mid-MI, but it matters; and if there is a span in the growth cycle that provides less stress and faster recovery, what sense in not taking advantage of it?

The grower's goal normally isn't to see how much stress their plants will tolerate, rather, it seems it would be more along the lines of doing what can be done to limit the severity of the effects and the duration of stress. Our job is to recognize stress factors and eliminate them to the greatest degree possible/reasonable so plants can realize as much of their genetic potential as possible. In fact, I just got a newsletter (from FL) cautioning Florida Growers against repotting their tropical trees too late because it's unlikely from here out that roots will have an opportunity to recover before winter.

Al

florida is not los angeles. and there are resources in los angeles that will give you a list of trees and other things to plant in january, of all times - believe it or not.

one size does not fit all.

Essentially you made an announcement with nothing to support it other than 'your plants didn't die after you repotted out of season'. No logic that illustrates how you arrived at your conclusion, no science, nothing but an anecdotal observation which is so highly suspect because it goes entirely against the very nature of plants.

Plants have cycles (search endogenous and Circadian rhythms). They are stronger during certain parts of their cycles than at other times, which means there are better times than others to repot. It hardly gets any simpler than that. If you were parked on the equator, I wouldn't argue, but you're not, and LA is far enough from the equator that virtually all plants that grow there go through easily discernible cycles.

As my original commentary relates to the OP, you simply can't up and repot (as opposed to potting up) the plants that John repotted in mid-August w/o a negative reaction so severe in many cases that total collapse of the plant wouldn't be much of a surprise. Too, the white light and high temps you cherish were certainly not the plant's friends after John repotted. You're wide of the mark by a mile.

Al

lol. you're crazy. i'm not here to prove anything to you. i'm offering a suggestion based on my experience, which is valid. you know nothing about gardening or farming in los angeles, yet you still know everything.

i never said high temps were a plant's best friend. but, good light is - which doesn't necessarily mean direct sunlight -- is. cuz i know you're gonna try to splice and dice my words

and frankly, you never know why people are losing plants. they could just be not very good at growing them and would lose them regardless of when they planted them.

but again, if you're in los angeles, repot in october if you'd like! lol. i do - never had a problem.

I discovered long ago that realizing plants really do go through cycles, and learning how/when to take advantage of their strengths and avoid unnecessary stresses when they're in the less robust part of the growth cycle is just one of the many adjustments we can make to help us reduce the number of losses and increase the o/a vitality levels of those plants we do tend. It's actually one of the things that sets a grower apart from those who just might not be very good at growing. It also raises the plane on which we interact with our plants. There is no downside to working with a plant's natural rhythms, but there certainly is a downside to working against them.

I don't really have an interest in what you believe or practice, but I do think it's important for others to consider what makes more sense before they adopt an 'at will' approach to repotting.

Al

For the record, most of my plants seem to be taking to the transplant well, so far. However, a couple of tomato plants are struggling, presumeably due to my carelessness of not providing proper shade and weening them post transplant to light/heat exposure. So based on that, and Al's advice, I have learned a personal lesson of when not to undergo a repot. Just my two cents...

That's good news, and actually, it's a pretty important 2 cents worth, given you're the OP. I hated to clog up your thread with a debate, but 'qui
tacet consentit'.

Al

There are many formulations of Sungro 'Metro Mix' for container planting, and many of them are 'revisions' (not all good revisions) of products formerly sold by Fafard before Fafard was aquired by SunGro. Of the many Metromix mixes, a very high % of plants would most appreciate either #852, #865, or #900 because of their superior aeration and drainage. Still, a grower can make mixes that will perform better.

Al

that is correct. Most growers and researchers at the university level are using Metro 366.

I've already made a thread about my Monstera, so I'm sorry for spamming this one but its right on track with my dilemma- I'm still debating repot vs pot up- its growing very very rapidly and I'm afraid to stress it now, but hate to leave it in the original soil for pot up, unsure how much root pruning to do, (it appears crowded) and I can't find good bark for making a similar soil for pot up. Perhaps just a gentle root & soil loosening and using a "not too bad" commercial potting soil I've had decent short term results with.. till winter? spring?

Again sorry for the spam/thread hijack but my lil monster is so on topic

If you're concerned about root congestion, the best thing for the plant would be to pot up slightly and start making plans to repot next June. That will give you time to learn more about soils ans make sure you have something appropriate on hand when repot time comes around. Waiting until next summer ensures that you have the opportunity to minimize stress and expect the fastest recovery. Where others might feel an 'it's ok to repot whenever you feel like it' approach is appropriate, I tend to look at things more from the perspective of the plant. Plants aren't unlike people in that when operated on, the healthiest and fittest recover fastest and with fewer complications. To ignore the plant's state of vitality and ability to make its food, largely determined by where the plant is in the growth cycle, just doesn't make sense ..... no matter where we live.

Al

Thank you, I do have freshly screened gritty standing by and foliage pro :D

June, wow- I was thinking of winter during slower growth but I see the reasoning of repotting as its really getting going too.

I'll pot up today if my back lets me :)

There are definitely better and worse times of year to repot plants in Los Angeles. September is risky because there is still likely to be a serious heat wave or two left in the year. The idea that you can ignore seasonality in LA is laughable.

If only I knew when to do which kind of plants in this hotass town of mine.

Found this cute little guy at the 99cent store and just had to rescue him. Roots were a big scorched, i washed and trimmed the roots a bit and gave it a new 5-1-1 home.

Poor guy, dug it up after a week and a half to repot. Just as I had hoped, fresh new root growth was spotted.

This will be its pot for the time being, until it becomes wildly overgrown and in need of another transplant. I find this 5-1-1 concoction fascinating.

John

May I ask if there is a drainage hole in that bucket?

Yes, there is a 1/2" dia. hole at the bottom for fast drainage.

Nice save ;) not a few of my plants are rescues as well lol

Couple weeks ago I bought a bundle of Basil found in the grocery store produce section. Roots and soil intact packaged in a bundle. Washed the roots around an inch in length and placed in 5-1-1. Fertilized once with foliage pro and now have root growth pushing out the drain holes.

Mmmmmmm - can't you just taste the fresh warm tomato slices, drizzled with some fruity olive oil, a few drops of a nice gold-cap balsamic, and topped with some of your freshly torn basil? Oink!

Al

John, what a fantastic job you are doing...Do you grow plants in doors too? Nice job ! John are you going to take those plants in or let them die come winter? You are fixing plants like I like too..Fun, right?