Are you wondering whether you should repot your houseplants in winter? It’s a question we get a lot – particularly from worried houseplant owners who are anxious about killing their houseplants. So, should we repot in winter? It depends. Sadly, there is no one size fit all answer, but this is the closest thing to it!
It’s been a long cold winter for most of us. As we spend more time inside, it’s easy to watch your plants start to struggle, day in, day out. AHHHH IS THERE ANYTHING WORSE?! If you’ve experienced this kind of plant trauma, then take a look at our guide to humidity, or 7 tips to keep your houseplants happy through winter.
HOW DO I KNOW IF YOU NEED TO REPOT MY PLANT IN WINTER?
There’s a few tell tale signs that plant sleuths like you can look out for! Check if the roots are growing out of the drainage holes or if the pot around the plant is firm instead of flexible when squeezed (it could mean it’s too root bound). Also, if your plant has mushy leaves and smelly soil, it could be a sign of root rot, which is an SOS situation!
ARE MY PLANTS STRONG ENOUGH TO REPOT IN WINTER?
If your watching your plant just not live it’s best life, that’s ok. Winter can be stressful for tropical plants, so keep using Support Pellets and Grow Concentrate during winter to keep them strong, but hold off the repotting until spring, when they are stronger.
If your plant is healthy, has some growth and is fairly mature, it may be fine to handle the stress of a winter repot.
CONSIDER YOUR LOCATION
If you’re in a really cold zone, or your house experiencing massive swings in temperature (Melbourne, we’re looking at you), then this could lead to plant stress, and its best to hold off repotting until the middle to end of August. If you’re in a more temperate location, the risk is far less!
UNDERSTAND YOUR HOUSEPLANT TYPE
Remember, most tropical houseplants are use to growing in rainforests, and can deal with a bit of tightness in their pot, so if you’re worried about them being rootbound, a couple of months shouldn’t hurt them. Tropical plants are at their best in warm, humid environments. Succulents however are used to the rapid changes in temperature of the desert, so are much more hardy in winter.
USE ORGANIC PRODUCTS THAT REDUCE PLANT STRESS
Bioactive products with natural stress busting hormones like We the Wild’s range of organic houseplant products help to reduce stress in plants. Use them consistently all year round and you will see far more resilient growth.