Newly bought flowers that aren't repotted will yellow, wither, and die within a few days

Qingming Festival is almost here, and the weather will get warmer after the holiday. That's when flowers and plants will immediately enter a period of crazy growth. Now is the best time to repot; repot too late and it will hinder the growth of plants, causing yellow leaves, leaf drop, and even the whole plant dying!

Gardenia repotting

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Many people have bought gardenias recently, but if the pot is filled with yellow clay soil when you buy it, the leaves may droop within a few days, so it's best to repot it!

Steps:

1. Support the pot with one hand, and with the other hand gently ease the gardenia out of the pot.

2. If the roots and soil are tangled together, soak the root ball in water to soften it, then clean off the soil; this is what's called washing the roots.

3. After cleaning the soil off the roots, leave them in a ventilated place to dry for a while, then trim away excess weak roots and old roots.

4. Prepare soil for planting the gardenia; you can use 6 parts humus soil plus 4 parts sandy soil. This kind of soil is slightly acidic and very airy.

5. A gardenia that has just been potted is rather fragile, so it's best to water it by the soaking method. Put the pot in a basin of water, leave it for 10 minutes, then take it out.

6. Put the gardenia in a semi-shady spot; do not expose it to strong light. Cover it with a plastic bag, open it once in the morning and once in the evening to mist it with water, and only remove the bag once new leaves grow.

Succulent repotting

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Succulent pots are generally quite small. If you don't repot for more than two years, the roots in the pot may have grown completely full, which will affect the succulent's growth. In addition, succulents with pest problems and black rot should also be repotted to prevent a second infection!

Steps:

1. Use tweezers to poke along the edge of the pot to loosen the soil at the edge, then gently take the succulent out. In the photo below you can see that this pot's succulent roots are already packed so densely that no air gets through, which is bad for root respiration and makes root rot likely.

2. Loosen the soil around the roots, and use sterilized scissors to trim away all the excess roots. After trimming, leave it in a cool place to let the wounds dry.

3. Prepare a pot a little larger than the original one. First spread a layer of expanded clay pellets, then add a little slightly moist succulent-specific soil. Then place the succulent in the center of the pot and slowly fill in soil and press it firm.

4. A freshly potted succulent has a period of acclimating to the pot. Since the soil is moist when potting, you can withhold water during this time. Wait until a week later, when the soil feels completely dry, then water.

Kalanchoe repotting

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Kalanchoe is tough and loves to grow, so it basically needs repotting 1~2 times a year. If your kalanchoe hasn't finished blooming yet, you can wait until the flowers fade before repotting!

Steps:

1. Withhold water from the kalanchoe for a period before repotting; repotting in wet soil easily damages the roots.

2. Kalanchoe has relatively few roots, so there's no need to trim the roots, and the original soil can be kept. Just put it directly into the new pot and fill in soil.

3. The newly added soil can be mixed with some compound fertilizer; the amount depends on the size of the pot, and generally no more than 8 granules at a time.

4. After planting, water once. The water temperature should preferably be close to room temperature, and water thoroughly.

5. If the kalanchoe's stems are long, you can trim it a bit when repotting, and stick the stems into the pot; the survival rate is basically 100%!

Orchid repotting

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Orchids' fleshy roots easily fill the pot, and if they produce side shoots, the pot becomes even more crowded, so repotting in good time gives them room to grow!

Steps:

1. Use a screwdriver to run around the inside of the pot so the soil separates from the pot, then take the orchid out.

2. Loosen the soil around the roots, shake the roots a little, and clean off the soil on the roots.

3. Trim off all the shriveled hollow roots, rotted roots, and relatively weak roots.

4. After trimming, soak the roots in a carbendazim solution for 10~15 minutes to disinfect, then take them out to dry.

5. Once the roots are dry, plant it in the new pot. Water with settling water the next day; this way root rot is less likely.

Rose repotting

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Potted roses generally need repotting once every 1~2 years, because the nutrients in the pot are relatively limited, and not repotting for a long time will cause the rose to bloom less, or even not bloom at all!

Steps:

1. Roses grow relatively fast, so when repotting, the new pot should preferably be 1 times larger than the original pot.

2. After adding some airy, large-particle growing medium to the bottom of the pot, sprinkle a thin layer of soil, then add some base fertilizer, such as fermented sheep manure pellets; don't use too much when applying.

3. After adding the base fertilizer, continue filling with soil. You can occasionally place the rose in its original pot into the new pot to see the difference between the original pot's soil surface and the new pot; once they are level, stop filling with soil.

4. Take the rose out of its pot, and note that you should not water before repotting; repotting when the soil is on the dry side is less likely to damage the roots.

5. Put the rose in the middle of the new pot, and as you fill in the flower soil, gently press it firm with your hands. Especially the soil around the rim of the pot, be sure to press it firm.

6. After filling in the soil, water thoroughly with settling water. If water starts running out of the bottom of the pot within 15 seconds and finishes draining within 1 minute, that proves the soil in the pot has fairly good drainage.

7. After repotting the rose, don't put it in the sun at first. Keep it in a semi-shady spot for 10~15 days, let the rose adjust for a while, then return to normal care.

That's all for the tips on repotting.

While the weather is neither too cold nor too hot,

hurry up and repot your flowers!