REPOTTING YOUR PLANTS… IN AUTUMN?!
You know what so many people say, ‘spring is the best time to repot your plants!’, but in reality, the odometer isn’t really ticking over as soon as spring ends. Plants basically grow all year round, so here are some tips about repotting your planto’s as we enter cooler weather.
- AUTUMN IN MELBOURNE ISN’T COLD. This is Australia – and the moment March 1 comes along, the weather doesn’t just go “okay, let’s drop down a few degrees”. Plants are often propagated and grown in artificial conditions, so that’s why you can still buy many of them all year. Trust me, my wedding was in April, and I definitely could have used a cool change!
- DORMANCY. If your plant has started an obvious dormancy, this is the time to say no to re-potting. Alocasias and Caladiums particularly enjoy a nap over winter and can often just be reduced to a bulb. If you can tell the leaves are starting to fall and this is happening, wait until spring to give it a snug new home.
- WINTER IS THE TIME TO AVOID. Winter is cold, your plant is trying to nap and its growth has halted during this time. Avoid winter re-potting *if you can* unless your plant has been on a heat mat and has not gone into dormancy. In the case your temperature hasn’t dropped for winter, you can consider a re-pot if needed. Honestly though it won’t kill you to wait a few weeks, but it may kill your plant!
- ROOTS. Check them! You may be re-potting for all the wrong reasons. If you’re worried about nutrients over winter, there’s lot of fertilisers you can use 12 months of the year. We the Wild ‘Grow’ is amazing for plants over winter, to give them a little boost. If your plant is incredibly root-bound, then go for it! If they’re not, consider if they can wait.
In a nutshell, we are all different and experiences differ. Personally, I repot almost all year around except for winter when it’s way too chilly to put any plants through the de-pantsing process. We hope this has helped, and we hope your plants flourish over the colder weather to come out even better in spring.