What kind of plant are you considering repotting?

Set the roots on top of a slight mound of mix with the roots radiating outward like the spokes on a wheel. Add a bit of mix, work in with a chop-stick. Add more mix, work into the roots; add more mix, and so on. The first re-potting tends to be the most difficult. Keep a hose or spray bottle handy to moisten roots if the process takes more than a minute or two. Water well after potting. Set the plant in the shade, out of the wind.

Josh

It's a little cactus in a 4 1/2" pot. I'd pot it up one pot size larger.
I must say in clarification I have a sort of makeshift gritty mix which I made from a bag of Hoffman's Bonsai mix which I screened. It contains Haydite, sand pebble, aged pine bark and Turface in that order.

I am trying to locate the ingredients for the proper Gritty mix but felt this would be a good way to practice my repotting skills with this new type of medium.

I'm in the process of being converted from the "Miracle-Gro with some perlite thrown in" school of repotting, thanks to all the wonderful education on this site.

Sorry for the sideways photo!

Thank you Purpleinopp and Josh for your responses. I will proceed as advised. Now to find that pair of chopsticks.

Do you think this mix is viable this one time while I locate the ingredients for my Gritty mix? The photo is of the mix.

I would be way out of my league talking about a cactus, having never repotted one. It's a cute little thing, though, good luck!

No need to fret about chopsticks....a pencil will work just fine. :-) Or anything of a similar shape.

Yes, kabob skewer, popsicle stick, pencil...whatever you have on hand ;-)

I think that mix will work just fine. However, I advise that you moisten the mix ahead of time, then let it dry out a bit (so there's some residual moisture). Then, re-pot your cactus *DRY* - this will help prevent rot from developing in any roots that are damaged during the re-potting process. After 3 - 5 days (a week approximately), slowly and thoroughly water the mix.

My previous advice on keeping roots moist does not apply to desert cacti.

Josh

Thank you Rhizo_1 and Josh, for the guidance!
I want to start out small before tackling larger more scary repotting jobs like my huge jade plant.

Good advice from all. Don't be afraid to bare-root the plant. The soil you have looks pretty good for cacti & succulents. If you use it for succulents, remember it's a fallacy that succulents like to go dry between waterings. It's better to let them go dry, because they'll TOLERATE it, and if they had a voice they'd tell you they would rather go dry than be kept too wet. Still, letting them go dry is the lesser of two evils, which is still an evil. In the mix you pictured, you can treat them just as you would all other houseplants you would keep in a well-aerated, fast draining medium.

Al

Thank you Al for the advice. I am learning so much from your tutorials, and all the other helpful people on this site. What a luxury to have so much information in one place!

..... really glad you found them helpful - thanks for the kind words. There are a lot of good gardeners here who are ready and able to help folks get more out of the gardening experience. It's always nice to be a part of people helping people.

Learn all you can from a reliable source, then use whatever practical experience your getting by growing to validate what you've learned. ..... fastest way to a green thumb.

{{gwi:23206}}

Al

I have trouble with roots drying out after transplanting to gritty mix. How can I avoid this? It happens more with young plants.

My guess would be more frequent watering. The gritty will not hold water nearly so much as a less porous mix...but then again...that's the whole point.

I have to wonder if bagging the plant while it adjusts to the new environment wouldn't be helpful.

Al,..if you're still around,I'd love to get your input on this.

Thanks! :)

I thought about watering more however I find that the top layers are the ones that dry out fast and the bottom layers are still wet. I thought the idea was not to water until the whole pot was dry? I'm afraid if I keep watering with the bottom layer still wet I'll start to get root rot? I guess I'm still trying to find a balance.

When you repot a plant into a well-made gritty mix, you eliminate the limitations imposed by soils that support perched water columns. The idea that 'you shouldn't water until the entire soil mass is almost dry' is a result of the assumption you'll be using a soil that remains soggy for a period after a thorough watering. That's not an issue with the gritty mix. It shouldn't EVER be soggy. The reason the ingredients are screened and the fines removed is so it won't hold perched water.

Some plants could be over-watered even in the gritty mix if growers don't give some thought to what they're doing, but it's still pretty hard to over-water most plants in the gritty mix - which is what allows us to water on a schedule, rather on a need per plant basis.

Water as often as you need, to ensure the soil is moist where the roots are recolonizing the soil. After a week or 2, for most plants you'll be watering every 3-5 days, depending on soil volume and root congestion.

Al

Thanks Al...maybe I described it incorrectly. The gritty mix is not soggy but it is damp at the bottom if the pot it never seems to dry completely so perhaps might medium is on the small side? Larger particles quicker dry time?

It's normal for the top of the soil to look and feel dry while the lower part of the soil is still moist - that's how all soils dry out - top first. Maybe I wasn't clear in making the point that what you described isn't an ongoing issue, but something you need to consider in the week or 2 after repotting. You need to water often enough to ensure the soil doesn't dry out in the area where the roots are concentrated. That's true of any well-aerated, fast draining soils.

Al

Got it! Thanks Al

hmmmm....seems my question got overlooked. Oh well.

Thanks anyway. :)