Repotting a succulent with an old woody stem only takes one pair of tweezers and one small brush, and the longer the stem grows, the sturdier it gets

Repot a succulent with an old woody stem this way and it grows thicker and sturdier

Image source: Mengmeng de Rourou

A succulent with an old woody stem has managed to live for several years before its branches finally grow thick, so when plant lovers repot it, they must be extra careful. Taking the Black Prince echeveria (Aeonium 'Zwartkop') as an example, Huahua will carefully explain the correct way to repot a succulent with an old woody stem, so plant lovers, keep your eyes wide open!

1. Prepare a flower pot

To give the roots of the old woody-stem succulent more room to grow, choose a pot a bit larger than the original one, and the bottom of the pot must have drainage holes. If the outside is somewhat rustic and beautiful and sets off the elegant air of the old woody stem even better, that is even better.

2. Prepare small tools

Find a small brush, a pair of tweezers and a small shovel; all of these will be used during the repotting process.

3. Insert the tweezers into the gap between the pot and the soil

The old flower pot is not very regular in shape, and the succulent's roots have already filled the gaps in the pot. To get the roots and soil out of the pot in a relatively intact piece, insert the tweezers into the gap between the soil and the pot to loosen the soil a bit.

4. Pull out the old woody-stem plant

After inserting the tweezers, the soil in the pot becomes loose, and with a bit of force you can pull the roots and soil out.

5. Brush the soil off the roots with a small brush

First rub the soil on the roots a little with your hands so some of the soil can fall off first, then use the brush to brush the soil off the roots.

6. Let the roots air-dry for 2-3 hours

Brush the soil off until it looks like the picture below. This Black Prince echeveria has no pests or diseases, so there was no root trimming or root washing. Finally, put it in a cool, ventilated place to air-dry for 2-3 hours to help the root wounds heal. If there are any withered leaves, you can pick them off as you go.

7. Put the soil into the new flower pot

First lay a piece of mesh over the drainage hole to prevent soil from leaking out, then scatter a 2-4 cm layer of coarse gravel, then add a 3 cm thick layer of a mixed soil of perlite, peat and river sand. The soil should not be too wet or too dry; it is fine if it feels slightly damp when you touch it.

8. Put the old woody-stem plant into the new flower pot

When repotting an old woody-stem plant, the biggest fear is having no one to hold it steady, so the branches flop every which way. It would be great if another person could help hold the branches, but do not forget we still have the tweezers, which can act as a second hand. Keep reading!

9. Use the tweezers to clamp the branch

Clamp the branch with the tweezers like this, with both ends of the tweezers resting on the rim of the pot, and the succulent is held in place. Repotting alone is easy too, then use the shovel to add soil into the flower pot.

10. You can fill the soil a little fuller

When filling the pot with soil, you can pour in a little extra. After filling, gently bounce the flower pot, and because there are gaps in the soil, the soil settles down.

After bouncing the flower pot, the soil in the pot sinks and becomes more compact, so the succulent can grow more firmly in the soil.

11. Cover the surface of the pot with maifan stone

Spread a layer of maifan stone on the surface of the pot; it is not only very pretty but also helps the succulent quickly develop that prized look. After being repotted, this Black Prince echeveria looks even better, and the branches will surely grow thicker and thicker and shoot up like crazy!

This is the method for repotting a succulent with an old woody stem.

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