I'm new to keeping houseplants and need some advice on repotting. When it's time to move them to a bigger pot, should I take off the old dirt and expose the roots, or can I just plop the whole thing into the new pot with some fresh soil? What's the best practice here?
3 Answers
Some people like to remove as much dirt as they can and even rinse the roots to check for rotting ones. This helps with root inspection during repotting, but I think it can stress the plant, so I’d recommend it only if there's a problem or if you’re repotting for a significant reason.
It really depends on the plant's health and what you want to achieve. If your plant is already thriving, you can just transfer it with the existing dirt into a larger pot and add fresh soil. However, if you suspect there might be root rot or pests, that's when you should consider removing the old soil to examine the roots more closely.
In most cases, you don't need to take off all the dirt. Just transferring the plant with its original soil is often less stressful for the plant. However, if you're looking to trim roots or change the soil mix drastically, then shaking off some dirt might help, but be careful not to stress it too much!