Potting and Repotting

Succulents are very tolerant of being moved to different pots. It’s always exciting to find a new pot and rearrange your succulents. Sometimes when you pull out your plants, you may find new growth you hadn’t noticed before.

Reasons To Repot

If you have the time and desire, your succulents will benefit from being repotted every year. There are also a few situations in which repotting is necessary to maintain the health of the plant.

New Succulent Purchases

Most succulents purchased at nurseries are not in soil suitable for long-term growth, so you’ll definitely want to move your succulents to a new container before too long. Leaving them in the rich, wet soil will cause them to die more quickly.

Root Bound

As your succulents grow, they’ll put off more and more roots and begin to fill up the pot. Often newly purchased succulents will be root bound, meaning the roots are tightly packed together and fill most of the pot they are in. Any time you see roots coming out the bottom of the pot, the succulent is ready for a new home. The roots need more space to grow so they get better airflow and have more access to the water they need.

Bug Infestation

At the first sign of bugs, you’ll want to repot immediately. Often bugs will hide in the soil and are hard to see. The soil could also be attracting the bugs, so it’s best to get rid of it and sanitize the pot before starting again.

Outgrown Container

If you notice your plants getting too big for the pot they are in, it’s time to repot. Succulents grow more slowly in very tight arrangements, and will almost stop growing once their roots have filled the pot. For the health of your succulents, it’s best to remove them and plant them in something a little larger. If you don’t want them to get any bigger, they can keep growing in the smaller container, but they may not continue to be as healthy.

Repot newly purchased succulents as soon as possible.

When a succulent gets too large for its container, it needs to be repotted.

The Best Time of Year to Repot

The best time of year to do repotting is just before the active growing season for your succulents (see “When to Water Succulents” to determine the active growing season). This will give them plenty of time to recover from the shock of being replanted. They will also be able to intake more water and are less likely to rot. If you do replant your succulents at the end of their growing season, be very careful not to overwater.