Potting, Repotting Plants
Small seedlings and plants that you start in the greenhouse are often started in small cells or containers until the seedling start to grow a bit. As your plants begin to get larger, you'll want to move the seedlings and put them into larger containers so they will continue to thrive and grow larger. The more space the plant has to grow the further the roots are going to spread out to support the healthy and growing plants.

Posted Thursday, April 6, 2006

As your seedlings are becoming more established you will want to keep the plants in an area where the temperatures are lower than normal. You don't want to freeze your little seedling out, but just a few degrees lower, like a good dark shade so the plant is well rested when you are going to move it so the entire plant is going to be under less stress when you are repotting it.

When you are going to be repotting a plant, you want to remember to bottom water so that you are not going to be bringing on any type of disease or fungus before or during the time when you repot a plant. Bottom watering is going to help the soil stick firmly together instead of falling apart when you are repotting a plant.

How can you determine if a plant is ready for repotting? The plant is going to be sturdy, not stringy and not flimsy. Plants that are healthy and thriving have stems that are easily supporting the leaves that are produced on the plant.

Before you get ready to move the plant entirely you will need to prepare your container. You will need a container that is sterile and clean. Fill it with a potting mixture that is just a step thicker then what you originally started the seeds in. Fill the container until it is about half way full.

As you prepare to move the plant from one container to the next, you want to be careful not to damage the roots. Be sure to move the plants with both hands; one plant holds the top portion of the stem, and the other around the root or ball of the plant.

Fill in around the roots and soil of the plant that you moved with additional soil. Do not pack the dirt in too much, just lightly put in soil. Watering the plant after you have transplanted the plant is going to pack soil in without disturbing the roots too much.

You should fill the soil up to the first real leaf of the plant. This is going to give the plant a good start on being stable, and you are sure to cover all the roots using this manner. The first true leaves of the plant are a few inches up from the start of the roots, sometimes a little less if the plant is not a tall one.

Settle your newly transplanted seedling into a place that is nice and warm but not in the direct sun. After the first watering and after about three or four days, the stress of your plant being moved and transplanted will be over and you can move the plant out into proper sunlight.