How to repot potted plants
It's a great time to give struggling potted plants a new lease of life by rejuvenating the soil and getting them to send out new roots.
Eventually pot plants may become totally root bound, with very little soil around the roots and then become hydrophobic. It's something you will need to plan for, as it will take commitment to complete the task and a good bit of heavy grunting. It's easier if you have a mate with a good sense of humour and muscles to assist.
Step 1: *Thoroughly wet the pot the day before you drag it out of its old pot. Use a wetting agent and really pour the water on - the whole root mass needs to be moist. You can also get a hand trowel and dig out some of the soil around the edge of the pot. Then rest - you'll need your strength for tomorrow.
Step 2: *Put the nozzle on full bore and blow out as much soil around the sides as possible. Then turn the pot on its side and roll it while blasting with jets of water to try and get some soil mass out. This is the fun part - you need someone holding the pot while the other person keeps tugging at the plant until it gives up and surrenders. Secateurs may be needed to cut through bigger roots.
Step 3: *Now you can prune back the top of the plant by a third and drop it into a bucket of water with seaweed solution to soak.
Step 4: *Pot into a larger pot with fresh potting mix and drench with seaweed solution and water plus a wetting agent. Push the soil in around the roots so there are no big air gaps.
