Repotting time, more pictures to come
Repotting a bunch of stuff. It's that time of year. Running behind for it actually. Really positive results from the last couple of years though. Soil mix is still providing for good root growth and all the plants are trucking along marvelously. I use a gritty mix and water with DG FP at every watering. I water whenever the rain doesn't. Grow zone is 5b/6a central-ish Indiana.
Comments (13)
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearH. limifolia that had been in the pot so long it had produced a pup that's established a root system of it's own. E. Subdenudat that I got back in March and has really surprised me with how fast it's pushed out a robust root system.
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearCrassula spp. pretty delicate roots but well-established. Overdue for a repot. M. elongata was due as well; the sides of the pot were swelling. Really pleased with the root system.
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Ficus elastica (rubber tree): best timing for prune and repot
Comments (14)Al: Oh, I do indeed have more trees! I am a bit overwhelmed by the number of pots both in and outside of my home. I am an incurable collector. I could ask you questions about them all day. . . Back in March, you answered several of my questions about making the gritty mix when I was just embarking upon that adventure. I put a few plants that were on death's doorstep in the mix then. A few didn't make it (a draceana among them), a few are thriving (the aloe and spider plant love the mix!), most have held steady and are starting to show signs of growth (shefflera, swiss cheese philodendron). So I do have a sense of the patience required when repotting before the optimal time. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of undertaking things at the right time. It's been nice to practice with the mix, learn about it's water retention, and begin to tweak it for my needs before I moved my most-beloveds into it. This week I chopped an enormous floppy jade back to it's thick base and put it in the mix. Looking forward to that development. Also a favorite cactus whose name I don't know; it's about four feet tall, main stalk about 3-4" diameter with five stalks coming off the main, so maneuvering it was an exciting project. I was nervous about that one, but glad I did it when I got in there and saw how cemented the roots were in the hardest soil I've ever dealt with. I have a ficus lyrata (fiddle fig) that also reaches the ceiling, so I'm using your advice to give it a new shape. I'm planning on following roughly the same timing for it as for the elastica. I have a very big Bloodgood maple in a pot that's too big to move. I'd love to get that back to a manageable size, but it has just leafed out beautifully and I'm thinking that it is not the right time for that. Your comments are welcome. My other big question involves conifers. I have a very sick Wilma Goldcrest Cypress, and some kind of arborvitae (I think). I've noted that you don't recommend bare-rooting these, but cutting wedges. Is that correct? What about timing? Okay, I've rambled enough. As you can probably tell now, I'm addicted (like many folks I've read on this site). Thanks again for your help. I'm really enjoying learning about the plants, seeing their roots, and giving them conditions to thrive. blessings, brenda...See MoreLime (?) tree sapling ... time to repot? now what?
Comments (3)Hmmm... guess my trees won't make it very long, as I'm really just a recreational grower. I already design and brew beer as a hobby with my hubby, I'm not planning to become a serious citrus gardener. I was hoping there would be some kind of general tips or guidelines for improving their chances of survival with a novice. I did do a bit of reading on ten or so threads about growing citrus from seeds, indoor, northern growers, etc. It seems my tendency to forget to water them is a good thing, as they prefer not to be very wet. In fact I think I neglected to water them completely from Nov - Jan, and normally give them a small amount of water every 2-3 weeks. I water a bit more regularly during late Spring - early Fall when they are getting more light and growing more. I check soil moisture, and water when they are dry several inches down. So far that appears to be working well enough. I did learn with my rubber plant that they need much less water in the winter when they get less light, and they grow less during that period. I'm fairly surprised the rubber plant is still alive, I honestly thought I drowned it early on and it was a goner - but that's a trooper too, and has recovered nicely. Anything still alive in my house is pretty tough - including the cats and the boys. I'm probably not up to root pruning. I was aware that they could grow to 10 feet or more, but I didn't think that would be a real concern for at least a decade or so. I have 9 foot ceilings, so I'm set for a little while. I think I also read that if they had already flowered and fruited, topping them a little would not hurt. If they had not flowered/fruited, then pruning would likely prevent them from doing so. Still, it seemed pruning was an option to maintain them to a manageable indoor size, especially if they are just attractive and not for fruit production. In general I don't fertilize exactly, even my outdoor veggie garden and landscaping plants. I mulch my ornamentals with compost every year. I add compost and organics to my veggie bed each year, turn it all in and call it good. I vermicompost in my basement (mostly as a means of disposing of my kitchen scraps, and because the boys also like worms, and I get worm castings for my outdoor plants & veggies), so I give my indoor plants (all 4 of them, counting the two lime saplings) an occasional drink of compost tea from the worm bin. I believe I originally potted the trees in Miracle Grow Moisture control potting mix (but it was around a year ago, so I can't be positive that's what I had then. They could be growing in a Natural Organics Potting Mix. I topped off (maybe 2 inches) recently with the cactus/citrus miracle grow before I read today that other people did not like that soil for their citrus. Go figure! That's so non-intuitive. I thought I'd be giving them some of the nutrients they needed from the slow release fertilizer in the soil, since I don't really fertilize. Mostly, I just wing it and hope it works out. I was trying to avoid making huge errors like putting them out for the summer if they should stay in, or failing to repot in a larger pot at the right time. Guess I'll just keep winging it and see how long they last. It was just for fun really. The boys were excited that they grew at all. It'd be a really nice accomplishment to say we actually grew our own tree from seed so hopefully they can just tuff out my clumsy novice growing skills. Thanks, Sherri...See MoreIs it time to repot?
Comments (2)In my opinion, it would not be worth repotting them to larger pots this time of year, since they're probably not going to grow much. Next spring repot to larger pots once they get growing. So you'll put off the decision about where to put them until next Fall! But by next Fall you might have a favorite-blooming one and a not-so-favorite one and that might make the decision easier!...See More1st Time (Finally) Repotted Meyer, Please Advise!
Comments (29)Laura, any success thus far and down the line is mostly a result of everything I've learned from first, the people on the Container forum (Al and others), who taught me how to make my own mix, and from you and others--John, Mike, Vlad, and more--here on the Citrus forum, who inspired me to take another chance on a Meyer and have given me the knowledge I need to care for it. I've wanted a Meyer, and roses, for so many years, but felt it was impossible here; my first Meyer, some 4 years ago, was miserable almost from the start and died--I didn't know what to do for it and was terrified to re-pot it. I would never have had the nerve before to mix my own planting mix, or to bare-root a tree when re-potting, for example, and I've done it now with all my formerly sad potted roses and my two new citrus, thus far with great results! I've read both forums for days (mostly nights) at a time! and admired your beautiful healthy citrus trees--yours are gorgeous!--and learned so much from your experience. I hadn't gardened in years, and I have a very small very challenging spot, but these forums (also Antique Rose forum, where I'm spending a lot of time now) are the reason I am gardening now. My dreary little space is already transformed, since April, with herbs, strawberries, blooming and budding roses, flowering/scented perennials, and my citrus trees, and already I find many bees and butterflies visiting. It's incredibly rewarding and a great little retreat for me. THANK YOU ALL for your inspiration and help! Sheba...See More
socks
last yearJohn (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearJohn (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearGot this gorgeous Trichocereus tip from a friend who's moving out of state. Nice roots already and got it all potted up as of last night. Can't wait to see what this does over the growing season.
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearLittle prop pot I left alone for too long. Unknown Echeveria/Graptoveria and Crassula picturata hybrid with some nice roots on them.
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearParodia buiningii that I repotted recently. Just a minor trim to the roots.
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearMammillaria elongata f. cristata with some nice roots and Echeveria 'Dionysos' looking good as well.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last yearJohn (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearlast modified: last year@tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) I really appreciate that Al. I need to improve on taking dedicated progress pictures and/or an actual "after shot" once they're settled into the new pot, but I'm working on it. It's really been affirming to see the progress so many of my plants have made after relieving the root congestion and giving them a fresh go of things.
This is a particularly gratifying success story of mine. Echeveria 'Hercules' - a very nice cultivar and rather common, for good reason. Tolerant of a wide range of cultural conditions and grows quite fast for a succulent. The above photo is from June 21, 2021.On November 21, 2021 I decided to repot it (I grew it under lights over the winter and skipped dormancy).
As you can see the roots were quite matted and had colonized most of the space available in the pot. As is also evident, I'd been using a peat based, pre-bagged mix with extra perlite added. I didn't find it to be an overly cumbersome problem, but it was clearly evident that the majority of the roots had grown pressed up against the wall of the terracotta pot and not throughout the middle of the pot. I did find it to be quite a task to remove all the old soil mix from the roots, so much so that even were there no concerns about the overall health of the rootzone, I'd use the gritty mix just for the ease of repotting in the future. See below.
After quite a bit of work, I ended up pruning off the majority of the roots because I'd damaged quite a few in my effort to be rid of the peaty stuff and because I felt the plant had enough energy reserves to handle it. Below is what I ended up with. Most of my root pruning adventures are not quite as extreme, but it all ended well.
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last yearlast modified: last year@tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) This is the same plant on May 12, 2022.
Quite the number of pups grew in and as some were getting a bit squished against the rim of the pot, I decided it was time to repot it and check and see how the roots had fared in the gritty mix as opposed to the pre-bagged mix with only minor amendments.These are the results.
The difference was incredible. The roots were evenly spread throughout the soil mix, and they weren't horribly matted against the edge of the pot. It was thrilling to see quite honestly. This is just the growth from November 21, 2021 to May 12, 2022, so just shy of 6 months. And as you can see the plant was ready, almost begging, for a repot. The last two pictures below are the plant after the root trimming and settled into the same size pot with fresh mix. I also set the plant a bit higher in the pot to make sure the offsets wouldn't get squished against the edge as they grow larger.
I haven't grabbed some pictures of this particular plant in a bit now (and probably won't until it outgrows the bit of sunburn I accidentally let it get during the little heatwave we had) but it's chugging along and the pups have all about doubled in size.Really can't thank you enough Al; can't tell you the number of times I've recommended people go read your thread on container soils/water movement and to try it for themselves. Hope you've been well and are having a good summer
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)
last year
Repotting time for this Haworthia 'Saiko'. Busted the side of the pot some time ago but I've been lazy.
I ended up trimming 3 of the fattest roots off and left it out overnight in order to let the tips callous. Will repot it sometime over the next few days.
John (Zone 5b/6a, IN)Original Author