Grow, baby, grow!

Your little succulents won’t stay little forever. Eventually, they’ll outgrow their homes and need to be repotted – the perfect opportunity for some succulent + plant-parent bonding! Get ready to roll up those sleeves, get your hands dirty, and dive into your next at-home project…

When to Repot:

Your succulent will give you some simple signs when it’s ready to be repotted. Take the succulent in these photos, for example. We know this one’s ready for a new home because:

• The succulent itself is much larger than the circumference of its pot.
• The soil has become very dry, gritty and grey. Basically, the soil was old and poor quality.
• Its roots have grown to the bottom of its original pot, like this:

How to Repot:

To get started, all you need is 1) a larger pot and 2) fresh cactus soil.

Overly large or deep pots, or pots without drainage holes, can lead to waterlogged succulents and root rot. The pot we chose is about 1-2″ bigger in diameter than the old one and has a drainage hole at the bottom – this is a perfect ‘upgrade’ that allows room for the succulent to grow but doesn’t run the risk of waterlogging it.

1. Remove your succulent from its current pot. If your succulent is in a flexible container, you can squeeze the sides to loosen the soil. If it’s in a solid container, like a ceramic pot, wait until the soil is dry, then use your fingers or shovel to loosen the dirt around the edge first, then gently remove the plant by pulling it by the base of its stem. 
2. Pour a layer of cactus soil into the bottom third of your new pot. If you’re fertilizing your succulent, sprinkle some granular fertilizer into the fresh cactus soil.
3. Place your succulent on top of that soil and fill the remaining empty space with more cactus soil. 
4. Gently press the soil down to secure your succulent, then add more soil if necessary.
5. If the cactus soil you used was completely dry, give your succulent a good drench. If there was a little moisture in the cactus soil, allow it to dry completely before watering.

And that’s it! Depending on how fast-growing your succulent is, it will be happy in its new pot for quite a while – 6 months at least. Happy potting!