When succulents run into this situation, you must repot them in time, otherwise they will never grow bigger

In autumn, succulents grow vigorously and are full of life, making it the perfect time to repot.

However, repotting is not our goal, but one of the means by which we help succulents grow better. Before you decide to repot your succulent, judging whether it needs repotting is a crucial matter.

The most common saying is that the pot should be a bit larger than the size of the succulent.So many plant lovers, upon finding that their succulent has grown larger than its pot, rush to repot it. In fact, in most cases, repotting is not something that absolutely must be done; it depends on the growth needs of the succulent at the time and your expectations for it.

There are only 3 reasons why we repot.

First, we hope the succulent can grow faster and bigger

Second, the original soil has become compacted or broken down into powder, causing poor root growth in the succulent

Third, the original pot really can no longer hold the succulent

1. Let's talk about the first situation. In fact, how big a succulent can grow has no direct relationship with the size of the pot. The factor that determines a succulent's size is actually the strength of its root system. Before a succulent grows bigger, it must first grow roots; only when the root system can provide more nutrients will the succulent grow bigger. Only when the succulent's roots have already filled the entire pot will the size of the pot hinder the succulent from continuing to grow.

The method for judging whether a succulent's roots have filled the entire pot is especially simple: just check whether the roots have grown out through the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot, just like in the picture below.

When you see a situation like this, you can repot the succulent. When we tip the succulent out of the pot, most of the time we will see a situation like the picture below:

From the picture, you can see that every particle of soil has been gripped tightly by the succulent's roots. This shows that our judgment was quite right. This succulent's roots have already filled the pot, and the size of the pot has become a hindering factor for its growth. Repotting it at this time will certainly help its growth.

When repotting this type of succulent, it is best not to change the soil; just switch to a larger pot and add new soil. To help it grow better, we can gently loosen with our hands the soil that is tightly gripped by the roots, remove the dead leaves at the bottom and the portion of soil clinging to the dead leaves. If the succulent already has a stem, you can let the stem show a little, so that the succulent's leaves no longer touch the soil surface.

Do not remove too much soil, as this protects a large number of undamaged root hairs, and after replanting there is no need for it to adjust to the new pot; it can directly enter the growth phase.

After cleaning up, the succulent looks like the picture below.

If your succulent's roots have not yet developed to the extent of the succulent in the picture, there is no need to rush to repot; waiting until the next spring or autumn to repot is not too late.

2. The second situation is that soil factors have affected the succulent's growth, and it not only needs repotting but also needs a soil change，This is further divided into several different situations, which we will discuss one by one.

The most common situation is that some succulents were originally grown in peat soil or garden soil, which is relatively hard to manage, and now you want to switch to granular soil in spring. In this case, thoroughly removing the soil, trimming the roots, drying the roots, and then repotting are necessary procedures.

Another situation,is the need for regular soil replacement.After soil has been used for a long time, the particles in it will break down into powder and affect the soil's air permeability. Also, as some succulents gradually grow into old stems, their roots thicken, and at the same time they have higher requirements for soil air permeability. Even if the original fine-particle soil has not broken down into powder, it may no longer be able to meet the succulent's growth needs.

The crested Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy' in the picture below is already 5 years old. Recently I noticed that its growth condition was not very good. Even though the temperature and humidity were both suitable, there were no obvious signs of growth. The leaves on the crested branches were especially small, and there were also especially many dead leaves.

Turning the pot over to look at the drainage hole at the bottom, you can see that the roots that had originally grown out through the drainage hole have all withered and died, which further proves that something is wrong with this succulent.

Generally speaking, old-stem succulents that have been kept for many years have very good root systems. Once a succulent has a problem, you must immediately determine the cause. If no clear cause can be found, it is most likely a soil problem. Let's repot this crested Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy' together and see exactly what caused the roots to die.

After repotting, it is easy to see that after 3 years of drilling and squeezing by the roots, apart from hard particles like maifan stone, particles such as akadama and kanuma have broken down into powder to varying degrees.The soil's air permeability can no longer meet the needs of this old-stem succulent. Replacing it with looser soil with larger particles can better help it grow.

If the roots show obvious rot, dryness, or uneven growth (with especially long roots), then a relatively thorough removal of soil and root trimming are needed. For mud accumulated between the roots that affects root respiration, be decisive and clean it out with tweezers, then dry the roots before repotting.

When repotting, it is recommended that everyone use dry soil for planting; dry soil has less friction and is less likely to injure the roots. After repotting, let it sit for 24 hours before watering, and keep it in a bright, indirectly lit environment for care.

The last situation is whether to repot when the succulent has grown larger than the pot.I will not answer this question first; let me show everyone two photos.

The two small pots in the photos are only about 4 cm in size, but the succulents have been planted in them for almost two years, and the roots have long since crowded the entire pots. If they were planted in larger pots, they could certainly grow quickly, but at the same time they would lose their miniature, cute appearance.

So, for this type of carefully cultivated succulent, just decide whether to repot entirely according to your own preferences.