GARDENING WITH THE EXPERTS
The world's finest share their tips for success
With a bit of forward planning there’s no need to worry about this enjoyable task
Most of our plants are in full growth, many with blooms, and it’s a time when we can really enjoy them. The plants will be getting bigger, and this means we need to consider repotting.
This is a worrying issue for many, but it’s actually quite enjoyable if you follow the basic rules. I rarely use gloves to handle my cacti but if you need to, you can put on a good strong pair to protect your hands. Also, for larger plants, consider using polystyrene to hold the plants so the spines aren’t damaged in the process and pull straight out.
First of all, select the destination pot, which should just be a little bigger with a gap around the plant sufficient to allow for a couple of years’ growth. All pots should have drainage holes so the pot doesn’t become waterlogged.
Remove the plant from the pot and inspect the roots for any pests such as root mealy bug and treat if appropriate. I like to tease away some of the old soil and dead fine roots and for this I use a fork (either kitchen or bonsai) to make the job easier. Some growers just ‘pot on’ without removing any old compost but that’s not how I like to do it. For rosette succulents, it’s also a good opportunity to remove the dried-up leaves at the base of the plant.
You can also remove offsets you don’t want on the main plant, or that you might wish to propagate to produce a new plant. Sometimes you can tease the offset away from the main plant as they may have detached themselves and already rooted. On other occasions you’ll need to remove the offset using a sharp knife to cut the narrowest point to minimise the damage. The cutting should be left to one side to dry for a week b
