When and How to Repot Plants

Sooner or later, your plants will eventually outgrow their containers, and you’ll need to transplant them into larger ones. Learn when and how to repot plants in this HGTV video:



An outdoor plant will need repotting when water runs straight through it or when tangled roots are visible at the surface.

  • Carefully remove plant from the container
  • Add 2-3 inches of fresh potting soil to the new container
  • Add slow-release fertilizer
  • Loosen the plant roots, then place in the new container
  • Fill with potting soil, leaving one inch from the top

An indoor plant will need repotting when roots are growing out of the drainage, when the soil is dried out, or when water runs off the top.

  • Cut a drainage hole in the new container
  • Add a coffee filter to the bottom of the new container (this lets water, but not soil, drain out)
  • Add potting soil
  • Remove plant from the old container and loosen the roots
  • Place the plant in the new container and add more potting soil

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