Repot a crowded plant or refresh a finished container

When to do it

When roots have filled the pot or an annual crop has finished; use mild conditions suitable for the plant.

What you need

• Clean container and fresh suitable mix
• Trowel and water
• Clean secateurs if damaged roots need removal

How to do it

1. Decide whether you are retaining a perennial or clearing a finished crop. Check for root disease before reusing material.
2. For a crowded perennial, choose a modestly larger pot. Slide out the moist root ball and gently loosen circling roots without tearing the whole system apart.
3. Replant at the correct level in fresh mix, settle around the roots and water. Avoid burying the crown or jumping to an enormous pot.
4. For a finished annual, remove roots and inspect the mix. Reuse sound old mix as a soil improver where suitable; replace badly degraded or suspect material and clean the container.
5. If refreshing the surface around a retained plant, remove only loose exhausted mix without cutting roots, add fresh mix and keep the original soil level. Review feeding after checking the new mix label.

What success looks like

• The pot drains and roots have room to grow.

Watch out for

• Reusing diseased mix without diagnosis.
• Cutting healthy roots indiscriminately to fit an undersized pot.

Related help