Spring has sprung, which means many of us are working hard on repotting our houseplants.
The most common reasons to repot are:
- to replenish or rejuvenate the potting mix a plant is in
- to provide the plant with a larger home
- to try to eliminate a potential problem
- to downsize the plant to pot that better fits its root system
Today we’ll discuss 10 ways a plant is telling us it’s time to repot.
Table of Contents
- #1 Roots are growing out of the drainage holes of the pot
- #2 New growth is emerging smaller or deformed
- #3 The plant has stopped growing
- #4 The plant is drying out a lot faster than it used to
- #5 The potting mix has become super hard and brick-like
- #6 The plant’s potting mix is maintaining moisture for long periods of time
- #7 It’s been 2 years or more since the plant has been repotted
- #8 Roots are growing above the potting mix
- #9 Leaves are turning yellow at an abnormal rate
- #10 The plant is wilting and not perking up like it used to
- Related Posts
Important notes on repotting:
Plants can be repotted into larger pots, smaller pots, or even the same size pot.
It depends on the size of the roots.
If the roots do need a larger space, it is usually best to choose a pot that is an inch or two larger than the previous pot.
This provides the roots a little space to grow without too much extra soil retaining moisture that the roots won’t be able to use before beginning to rot.
People sometimes use the term “up-potting” when moving a plant from a smaller size to a larger size pot. I do not use this term, but rather just refer to it as repotting.
Choosing a larger pot can result in the roots being left wet for too long because there is too much moisture.
Sitting wet for an extended period of time can result in root rot and possible death.
If your plant hasn’t been repotted for a couple of years but doesn’t have a large enough root system for a larger pot: you can replant it into the same size pot.
If your plant is removed from its pot and you discover that the root system consumed less than half of the pot, you may want to pot it in a smaller planter that better fits its root system.
#1 Roots are growing out of the drainage holes of the pot
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| The plant’s roots have filled the pot and need more room | Move the plant into a larger pot |
More information:
If it’s time to move the plant to a bigger pot, choose one that is only an inch or two larger than the previous pot to ensure the plant doesn’t drown in its new pot.
For example, if the plant was in a 4 inch pot, repotting into a 6 inch pot would be great.
#2 New growth is emerging smaller or deformed
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| The roots need more space to produce healthy growth | Move the plant into a larger pot |
| The plant is lacking nutrients | Replace the potting mix or fertilize more often |
| A pest is causing deformed growth | Identify and treat the pest |
| The plant isn’t getting enough light | If the leaves aren’t deformed, but are consistently smaller, the plant may need more light to grow bigger leaves |
| The plant needs climbing support | Plants that are epiphytic (meaning climbers) may grow smaller leaves when they are lacking support to support their climbing nature. This is especially true for climbing aroids, like Philodendrons and Epipremnums (Pothos). |
More information:
When a plant’s roots are missing adequate space for growth, moisture, and nutrients, it will affect the plant’s growth both above and below soil.
If it’s time to move the plant to a bigger pot, choose one that is only an inch or two larger than the previous pot to ensure the plant doesn’t drown in its new pot.
If you find that the roots have adequate space and think the plant might just need to be fertilized, check out my post on how to fertilize houseplants.
If the roots have plenty of room and you are fertilizing regularly, but new growth is still deformed, it may be a pest.
Click to check out some posts to help to determine what pest you might be dealing with
#3 The plant has stopped growing
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| The roots have run out of space to grow | Move the plant to a larger pot |
| The nutrients are depleted | Fertilize the plant or refresh the potting mix |
| Soil pests damaging the plant’s roots | Identify and treat the pest |
| The plant isn’t getting enough light | Plants will not be able to support new growth if they aren’t receiving adequate light If your plant is in low light or far from a window, trying moving it to a brighter location. |
More information:
If you find that the roots have adequate space and think the plant might just need to be fertilized, check out my post on how to fertilize houseplants.
If the roots have plenty of room and you are fertilizing regularly, but new growth is still deformed, it may be a pest.
Click to check out some posts to help to determine what pest you might be dealing with
#4 The plant is drying out a lot faster than it used to
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| The roots have used all the space in the pot. There’s no room for potting mix to hold moisture | Move the plant to a larger pot |
| The potting mix is too well-draining | Replace the potting medium with one that is a bit more dense (has less perlite, bark, etcetera) |
More information:
If you used to be able to water a plant every week or so, but its now dry and thirsty every day or two, it might be time to repot!
Plants that dry out much faster than they used to are often very root bound and do not have a lot of room left in their pot to grow.
Root bound means that the roots have used the available space in the pot and are winding in and around themselves and the pot because there is no where else to go.
When you remove a plant that is root bound, you will see tightly wound roots consuming a good portion of the pot.
If it’s time to move the plant to a bigger pot, choose one that is only an inch or two larger than the previous pot to ensure the plant doesn’t drown in its new pot.
If you remove the plant from its pot and find that the roots have plenty of space to grow but is still drying out really fast, the potting mix the plant is in might be too well-draining.
There might be too much perlite, bark, pumice, and other airy media in it. Try mixing the soil again using a little less of these ingredients to allow the plant to hold on to moisture a bit longer.
#5 The potting mix has become super hard and brick-like
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| Old potting mix that has compacted | Soak the plant to loosen the potting mix Repot the plant into fresh potting mix that has perlite, pumice, or other soil amendments to increase drainage and keep soil loose and healthy. |
| Potting mix that has too much peat moss in it | Peat moss, when dry, actually repels water and it takes time and even repeated pours or bottom watering to saturate the mix. In this case, I personally would repot the plant into a mix with more perlite, pumice, or something similar that will break up the peat moss and allow the water to pass through and saturate more easily |
More information:
When potting mix becomes brick-like it can be detrimental to the plant.
The soil brick can suffocate the roots, causing the plant to slowly die.
The brick can also prevent the plant from receiving water because the water doesn’t actually penetrate the brick. Instead, it runs around the soil block.
It can be intimidating to deal with a plant in this state.
My recommendation is to remove the plant and its soil from the pot, then place the part of the plant in soil to soak in a bowl of water so the soil can begin to absorb moisture and soften.
When the outside looks dark and saturated, see if you can remove some of the soil.
You may find that there is still a dry mass in the middle and it will need to be soaked again.
Keep soaking until you can remove a good portion of soil and then go ahead and repot!
#6 The plant’s potting mix is maintaining moisture for long periods of time
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| Root ball is too small for the size of the pot | Repot the plant into a smaller pot that’s just slightly larger than the root ball |
| Potting mix isn’t well-draining enough | Add perlite, bark, pumice, or other soil amendments that increase drainage |
| Plant is being watered too often | Reduce how frequently the plant is watered |
| Plant isn’t receiving enough light | Move the plant to an area with more light |
How do you know if the potting mix is well-draining enough?
Almost all houseplants prefer to have well-draining soil with ample amounts of perlite, pumice, or other amendments making the potting mix airy and light.
If you look at the potting mix and it is just one consistent color and material rather than lots of different colors and textures, your plant probably needs better potting mix.
Lots of plants are in dense potting mixes when purchased from the greenhouse.
At the greenhouse the plants are receiving a lot of light and heat, so the plants dry rapidly. Our homes are not nearly as well lit or hot, making that dense potting mix too heavy for a houseplant.
#7 It’s been 2 years or more since the plant has been repotted
If it’s been a couple of years since the plant has been repotted, it’s good practice to repot.
Why? After a couple of years the potting mix will begin to break down causing potential issues for root health. The nutrients in the soil are depleted as well and many plants will be in need of a larger pot after a couple of years.
This is also a good opportunity to ensure the roots seem healthy and that there aren’t any pests lurking around the roots.
#8 Roots are growing above the potting mix
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| Roots no longer have room to grow in the pot | Repot the plant into a larger pot |
More information:
Sometimes plants will start pushing roots up instead of down through the drainage hole when the roots are running out of space. If you see roots emerging on top of the soil, it is a good idea to take the plant out of its pot and see if it is in need of a larger home.
If it’s time to move the plant to a bigger pot, choose one that is only an inch or two larger than the previous pot to ensure the plant doesn’t drown in its new pot.
#9 Leaves are turning yellow at an abnormal rate
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| Nutrients have been depleted | Repot into fresh soil or begin fertilizing |
| Potting mix is staying wet for too long – could be root rot | Check root health and treat the plant for root rot if needed |
| Possible pest | Check root health to see if there are pests present and treat accordingly |
More information:
If you’d like to learn more about how to fertilize a plant, click here to read that post.
#10 The plant is wilting and not perking up like it used to
| Possible Cause | Solution |
| Drying out too quickly | Move the plant to a larger pot |
| Staying wet too long – possible root rot due to lack of aeration in potting mix, too large of a pot, or too low of light levels | Check root health and treat the plant for root rot if needed |
| Pests | Check root health to see if there are pests present and treat accordingly |
More information:
This particular symptom is one of the hardest to understand at first because it can be a product of two opposite extremes: not getting enough water and getting too much water. So how do you know which it is?
If your plant isn’t getting enough water, the potting mix will be super dry a lot of the time and the roots will look healthy when removed from the pot, even if some of them are a bit dried.
If your plant is getting too much water, the potting mix will remain moist for a long period of time and the roots may be discolored and easily breakable. You may be able to squeeze the root and pull a little to remove the outer root tissue and leave behind a thin string. The potting mix may also have an unpleasant odor due to the bacteria and fungal build up in wet conditions.
If it’s time to move the plant to a bigger pot, choose one that is only an inch or two larger than the previous pot to ensure the plant doesn’t drown in its new pot.
Happy growing and happy Spring!! Good luck with all of your repotting adventures… especially if your list of plants to repot is similar to mine: very, very, very long! 🙂
This is really comprehensive and helpful – thank you!
Thank you for the wonderful feedback! I am so happy to hear that you found helpful information in this post! 🙂