I’ve been repotting plants for nearly 5 years, and have repotted my plants more than 100 times. These are the 15 items I have found the most helpful when repotting.
Trust me when I say you will want to have these items on hand before you take your current plant out of its pot.
1. Potting Soil / Potting Mix
Depending on the plant, you will need different soils. Some people like to get a standard potting soil, and add all of the essential components, but I prefer to use a potting mix, and add additional perlite as necessary.
I search for sustainable potting mixes that are coco coir based or follow sustainable moss practices. I learned about how important moss is in a botany course I took through Wondrium.
I also will add perlite to my soil mixes for drainage. For repotting my orchid I used this orchid bark. For starting seedlings that I either propagated or put outdoors, I used this soil.
2. Perlite
To improve drainage, and reduce the likelihood of root rot, I will add perlite to my potting mixes. Perlite is a volcanic rock. By having items like perlite on hand, you have the flexibility to adjust how well-draining your potting mix is. I add additional perlite to all mixes, just the amount of perlite in the mix may vary.
3. Seed Starting Soil
I initially bought seed starting soil when I was starting a balcony vegetable garden from seed. However, I have started to use this for plant propagation in soil. Everything seems to root and grow in just a couple of days.
4. Orchid Bark
Since I’m not really a fan of moss (as it isn’t a sustainable medium for the environment), so I use orchid bark for my orchid. I recently bought this one and my Orchid seems quite happy.
5. Garden Tools
I use a combination of garden tools, tablespoons and measuring cups. These tools are great for repotting and my balcony planters. Depending on the planter size I use tablespoons and measuring cups because I find it easier.
If it’s a cactus, I use protective gloves, and kitchen tongs.
6. Nursing Pots
Nursing pots are great. If you want to use decorative pots with no drainage holes, you can pot your plant in a nursing pot and put this inside of a decorative pot with no drainage. Drainage is really important to avoid issues like root rot or pests like fungus gnats.
7. Pots with Drainage
For some plants, it’s difficult to find the right size nursing pot, but you might be able to find a decorative pot in the right size. Like I mentioned above, drainage in pots is really important. This is probably the number one thing I would recommend to new plant parents. It’s the easiest way to prevent these common mistakes. I have used this one for smaller plants, and this one for a bigger plant.
8. Bowls
During my repot, I usually pull out some mixing bowls. Usually just one to remove the old dirt, from the plant/set the plant in while I grab while I put new soil in the pot. Sometimes I mix the potting mix and perlite together in a different mixing bowl, but usually I just use a tall tupperware container.
9. Potting Mat
If you do a lot of repotting on the ground or just want to keep your surfaces clean, a potting mat is great for this.
10. Gardening Gloves
When repotting sharp plants, it is essential to have thick gloves. My preference is leather as I have found cactus needles will stick and potentially puncture suede and other softer materials. The gloves that I have are unfortunately sold out, but these gloves seem like a good alternative and have a lot of reviews.
11. Compost Bags & Bins
The clean up is a key part of repotting. You can take the old soil, and give back to the earth by composting (I love composting).
I always use compost bags during my repot. I often put them in my compost bin. Since I keep my compost bin on the counter, I wanted an aesthetic one.
12. Dust Pan
After repotting 30 plants one summer, I started to realize it was quicker for me to just sweep the dirt off my counter into the dust pan than using a bunch of paper towels. Although, if you use a potting mat, maybe you don’t need to do this.
13. Vacuum
I make a HUGE mess during repotting. In my videos, you don’t see the floor, but trust me, it’s a mess and no one wants to walk through dirt. I much rather vacuum than sweep. I also feels it picks up the little pieces of dirt better.
If your plants are leaning, and need additional support
14. Plant Stakes or Poles
Depending on the size of your plant, you may need one of the following items for support when repotting plants. It’s easier to stake the plant (especially a monstera deliciosa) during the repotting period.
For large plants, you want to use a coco coir pole. For medium size plants (4-6″) you can likely get away with plant stakes or chopsticks, for smaller plants (3″ and less) you might only want to use toothpicks.
15. Plant Velcro
If you are using plant stakes or chopsticks you will want to also get plant velcro to actually secure your plant to the stake in a way that doesn’t hurt the plant.
Hope this guide helps you with everything you need for repotting your plant, and prevention. I have other guides on specific tips such as: individual pest guides, essential items for day-to-day plant care, vacation plant care prep (setting up automated systems), individual plant care guides, and my favourite planty books!
