I recently repotted a bunch of my plants, including a Tradescantia Nanouk and a Begonia Rex, and a few of them seem to be struggling. I divided some of the plants, which might be causing shock, but other plants are doing just fine. I'm currently trying to water them from the bottom with some fertilizer, but I really want to avoid losing any of my plants. Any suggestions on how to help them recover?
4 Answers
It’s actually best not to fertilize for at least a month after repotting. Instead, you could use something mild like earthworm castings. Make sure your plants get enough light—this is super important after a repot as they need energy to grow their roots. Don’t forget to water them gently in advance to reduce stress, especially if they have fine roots, and aim for normal moisture levels to keep things balanced.
To avoid transplant shock, try to minimize disturbing the roots during repotting. When you take a plant out of its old pot, do it while the soil is dry, and gently knock off as much of the old dirt as you can without affecting the roots. Then, place the whole mass into the new pot and fill any gaps with fresh soil without packing it down. I like to use a mix of potting soil, fir bark, and perlite (1:1:1) for my tropical plants and wait a day before watering them after repotting.
I've never lost a plant after repotting, and I think it's because I don’t wash all the dirt off the roots like some people do. Instead, I just go up a pot size. I put some soil at the bottom of the pot, add the plant, fill around it with more soil, give it a good watering, and place it in a sunny spot. Seems to work every time!
One tip I've found helpful is mixing tap water with milk of magnesia for the first couple of weeks after repotting. I’ve never lost a plant doing this! It seems to give them a little boost.