well actually pots without drainage holes aren't a problem just becouse you can overwater them, the problem is all about having stagnant water, if the water moves away it clean the soil from eccessive mold and microorganisms. if the water doesn't escape from the pot then the plant can be damaged more easly. Sure if you keep the soil with low levels of moisture then the problem almost don't exist, but it also depend on the plant ability to resist stagnant water or molds.
Hi! I've been enjoying your videos. I'm having trouble/I keep killing my succulents because I don't know what I'm doing till it's too late - so now I've watched your videos and I'm going to try to do better now. lol I liked your tip about not touching the leaves of the ones w beneficial 'powder' on them. Didnt know that. --> I've used a plastic serrated lettuce knife to trim the bottom 3rd of roots on one of my rootbounds. Plant was looking awful anyway so now I can watch to see if I fixed it. The lettuce knife is easy to clean potting soil off of, non-rustable if I don't, and is now a dedicated gardening root tool. I figured plant roots were the same consistency as lettuce/sprouts so it made sense to me to try it. IDEAS: I have a bad habit of overwatering pots w no drainage holes. I use my plant meter to show me that I overwatered but then what can I do about it? So I think to try this to get the excess water out without disturbing the plant too much: --> Cut up a man-made chamois cloth for car into typical 'plant tags' shapes of different lengths/widths (for different depth pots) so pointy end can be pushed when dry/hard through soil at side of pot to bottom/pooled water [like Shammy brand for instance, but any brand cuz all man-made shammies are hard like thick cardboard when they're thoroughly dry so I think it will work if tags are pushed down to bottom quickly]. Pull out soggy shammy tags, wash off, wring out, let dry flat till stiff again. Use additional dry tags until excess water is removed from pot. THEORY: The shammy tags will #1 soak up overwater until excess water has been removed #2 aerate the soil a bit to help plant breathe #3 are reusable indefinitely Is that crazy? I'm going to try it to apologize to my plants for my occasional brown thumb. At least they'll have a better chance of surviving me. --> Ive been using the dehumidifier water from my Eva-Dry mini dehumidifier to water my plants since I rarely remember to collect rainwater. I've been doing this for a year and my plants haven't complained and look better than if I use tap water. My plants seem happy with it. In my mind, this water is as good as rainwater since it doesn't have the chemicals that tap water contains and no acid rain. --> This Winter I also used my old Brita filter pitcher using almost depleted filters to make extra houseplant water when needed because dehumidifier in winter doesn't produce enough. The filters are leftovers ready to be thrown out (according to manufacturer) but I believe still a little life left in them/just not full strength filtering cuz they're 3-4 mo. old from my normal daily use Is that also crazy/bad idea? Well, those are some of the tricks I've experimented with to improve my houseplant caretaker responsibilities. Thanks for your videos 💚💚💚🌿🌱🌵
Instead of a water meter, I use bamboo skewers! You can get them in 200-packs for cheap and just stick them in your pots (and they're even helpful to support plants that need it). If the look bothers you, you can cut them smaller so they just come out of your soil enough to pull them easily. When you want to water, just pull out the skewer and check to see if it's damp at the bottom, then stick it right back in. It's especially helpful with very large pots where it can be almost impossible to figure out whether the soil has dried all the way down!
Thank you - I'm going to use that or a wooden popsicle stick from now on! The meters I tried previously never functioned as advertised. But the wood would be easy - you can see the soil cling if slightly damp. Brilliant idea! (Although I don't mind dirty fingers - I also cook a lot - and so cleaner fingers are wiser when one does a lot of food handling!)
2:57-3:18 The problem here is actually soil compaction. Most of the soil is still in the pot, but the roots compressed it, leaving no space for it to fill with water. It's like a sponge that's always being squeezed. The reason rootbound plants will dry out, rather than get overwatered from drinking "too quickly", is that the water you try to give them will run right through the pot.
@@SheffieldMadePlants 8:06, great content from a lifetime gardener here. Suggestion: when suggesting a video at the end, leave it up for 6-8 seconds, not 3. Let there be extra seconds at the end to play out so people have time to click on the suggested video.
I like how this guy is saying the truth: DON'T OVERCOMPLICATE things. It's all about experience and patience. My grandpa is a farmer his whole life, he can basically grow anything in styrofoam boxes with no holes(or anything he has lying around), and dirt he dug up from the garden, and everything he grows is in better shape than the one I do. There are many things to learn about plant cares, but it's never "a thing that you have to buy".
Even I have put a jade plant in no drainage hole pot after looking into your short video. Its working. I'm extra careful while watering. Your videos inspires everyone to have jungle in their home. Please please do make a video on soil mix and its importance. Also on pots, whether to use plastic pots or terracotta or ceramic.
I have tried to take the guess work out of watering. I use a kitchen scale. Weigh the plant dry. Add a measured amount of water with a sprayer. And I can check the weight to see how much water is in the pot. I try to add an amount of water that drys out within 3-5 days. If it doesn’t dry out in that time I give it less water next time. Doing this also fixed fi gas gnats for me.
I always relocate a spider I've found in the house on to one of my houseplants where gnats are zooming around. The spider usually stays in the region where I put her/him and catches all the gnats for me. Win-win usually. Have a great summer.
Oh man, you just made me realise where all these gnats in my house came from. I've got a bit of a black thumb, so usually don't have house plants, but I bought a plant the other week and accidentally overwatered it. It all makes sense. LMAO. oof.
When I repot I don’t really “untangle” the roots, but I poke at them with a chopstick or something similar and shake it to get all of the old dirt out. The roots are the same as before, except naked.
I wish I stumbled on your channel before. I’ve seen hundreds of diy plant videos; yours are concise and provide tips I wish I knew before. Great job and thanks!
Recently, I repotted a fig that was really rootbound - I set it in a pot of water for a few hours and the roots which were incredibly tight relaxed a lot. 3 weeks have passed and it looks pretty happy.
Oh, good to know that roots are pretty tough. I untangled my Peace Lilly’s roots and thought I did it too roughly. They are still in shock from the repotting but at least they’re not dead. I did lose a a few stems per plant but the rest still look fine. Let’s hope they all survive.
Most of my succulents and cacti are in pots without drainage holes, mostly glass and glazed ceramics, and they have done fantastic for years! My tropicals are in plastic pots with drainage. I'm a chronic under-waterer so it works well for me!
I totally agree as I never untangled unless as you said base of plant is getting strangled. I also make sure that the dirt is not packed in tight. I use old fly screen at the bottom of my plants so the dirt doesn't fall out the bottom of the pots but it does let the water out really well. As I get very annoyed if I have to vacuum the dirt off as I move them into the shower and it then goes back exactly where I took it from as plants definitely hate being moved around but I do rotate my plants around every time I water. That way they grow more evenly...
Mykos, a grandular Endomycorrihizael innoculant, sprinkled directly on the roots, for best effect, can enable the root zone to absorb 10-1000X the amount of water and nutrients. I always use this when transplanting, and usually into a fabric pot, that "air prunes" the roots, and makes them impossible to spiral around and get "root bound". Great aeration, and "all roots" through all the soil. A great topic to look into, for the healthiest root zone available! Grow smarter, not harder. Thanks for the great video!👍💯✌️
When I repot I usually just leave the roots alone unless I am separating pups from the mother plant. I like to amend my promix soil with lots of course sand (about half and half) for extra drainage for succulents and coco coir for tropical plants and of course perlite for everything. I can never seem to keep plants alive in a pot with no drainage holes. I always either plant them in a plastic pot with holes and then put that in a decorative pot or plant them into a terracotta pot with a saucer, that way it is easy to bottom water without having to move the plant. A good tip for using pretty pots with weird shapes is to save your plastic containers, always be on the lookout, I save the few water bottles that I use and plastic food containers and turn them into pots with drainage with the hot tip of a hot glue gun to make holes and cut them to size I figured out that water bottles and Kaft Parmesan containers work great in cute mugs with straight sides and cream cheese containers work great for short squat pots. Those little plastic cups with lids they put condiments in when you get takeout perfect for tiny pots. The big 2L soda bottles and 4L+ sized water bottles are good for larger containers too.
I have rosemary in my kitchen in a Terra cotta pot without drainage holes and I have Pilea glauca in a small planter without drainage holes. The Terra cotta dries the rosemary up enough that watering once a week is just fine for it. And the planter for the pilia keeps the roots just damp enough to water it once a week instead of every other day. Non drainage planters are also almost perfect for my nerve plant, but it does start getting dramatic for the last day or so prior to watering.
I learned this the hard way, my plants failed after repotting then I read an article that said not to disturb the roots and ever since have done wonders.
I hate repotting too. And I have the same moisture meter. It's a great tool since I hate sticking my finger in the soil 😂I've kind of been disregarding the "zones" listed on the back of the box, though, and I just wait until the meter reads dry and water them till it says wet. 🤷🏻♀
That’s true I have a few plants in pots without drainage holes ( small kalanchoes, small succulents, a few cactus, portulagas) and they are doing great , I have them in full sun, I m very carefull how much water I give them and they thrive !!! I agree. Of course it needs a bit of experience to do it. If somebody is a beginner it is more safe to keep drainage holes in all his plants! Congratulations for your work !!
I don’t have a moisture meter but I save the bamboo/wooden coffee stirrers (lolly sticks & kebab skewers) and insert them right down to the base of my potted plants. Then pull them out, feel the residual soil sticking to the stick, if it is wet-damp that indicates plant does not need to be watered yet. If it is dry obviously that’s the time for a good watering. This technique coupled with lifting the plant pot to check if it feels lighter (= time to water) or still a bit heavy (= don’t water yet) has always worked very well for me. The sticks also come in useful to turn and aerate the top of the soil. I also ‘stir’ in dried tea leaves (which feeds the plants) and also keeps them looking beautiful and neat in their pots.
I would say that about half of my plants are in pots with no drainage holes.. I just give them a little "splash" like once a week (or when they're dry).. Works perfectly!! The only reason I even use the containers in my pots anymore is because it makes it so much easier to do a quick soil change 😉 But unfortunately I killed a bunch of beauties before I learned that lesson 😫🥀😂 Anyways, thank you for your videos!! I always learn something new!!
I place about an inch or two of LECA at the bottom of clear pots with no drainage holes. I make sure the roots are not submerged in the water and the LECA helps provide water without drowning the roots. I place pots with drainage holes on top of LECA or gravel. This enables some air circulation, run off from my overwatering, and provides humidity.
You are absolutely right about roots being resilient. When I first started my plant journey my mom forced me to cut overgrown roots every time I repotted plants. And it somehow never hurt any plant and they still grew. Nowadays some plants I look at the roots and I don’t touch them because I don’t see the point, some plants have tiny thin roots, no point in cutting them because they don’t take up that much room
When I repot, I wet the soil I'm going to use, before I put it in the pot. After soaking the plant in water, it's placed into the new pot with the new WET soil and I'm done. I repotted my giant monstera once and had only a big pot without holes. I used it and it lived in that pot for years because I was careful on watering. I've also put succulents in pots without holes. I love all your tutorials. I find I've done some things wrong and some things right. Thank you.
My UPG is that untangling the roots is best practice- I've had plants almost die because I didn't do that, even though they were only mildly root bound when I replanted, but it's nice to see others are having success with not doing that! (And don't share my particular neurosis lol)
I rarely untangle roots! I didn’t even know you were supposed to!! By the time I found out, I’d already successfully repotted so many, I just didn’t want to fix something that didn’t seem broken! And the few times I did give it a go, the plant didn’t make it because it died before it could dry out
i like the bath thing. one of my plants seem to like it alot so i actually just kept it there. something i like the most about plants is to just experiment with them. now my Syngonium who lived inside soil for most of its life and she wasnt looking to good when i got her, is living in water only and she seems to love it. basicly just a pot without holes, but the cleaned up rootball inside and fill it up with some water and a bit of fertilizer added and leave it be and she somehow loves it.
I concur with most of his advice, and I like his direct approach with a simple and sensible explanation of why. Watering in the sink, however, gives me anxiety. I did that and despite my best efforts to keep the soil and pumice from going down the drain, enough did go down that we ended up having to snake the drain for a couple of hours (or call a plumber, which would have been USD$250 for the call). Now I use a big bucket, then dump the water on my backyard tree roots or front deck planters. Good advice overall, than you!
Was thinking much the same. Another poster suggested small pieces of window screen in the bottom of pot drainage holes - which solves some of it, but yes, a bucket that gets dumped outside on outdoor plants - ideally, or at the very least in the toilet (assuming apt living, or frigid weather) with the last bits going in the garbage can, are going to be far better for one's plumbing.
I find that self watering pots are really useful, especially for big plants. I have a plant that is over 1m tall and it likes to drink water, especially in the summer.
I'm a newbie to house plants I pot my plants like you just put it in larger pot as it is there perfectly happy ❤your videos there my go too for any questions I have thank you for sharing your knowledge 😊 my plants have a greater chance of doing well thanks to you
So happy I found ur channel. I always plant my in another pot when I get home. Never thought about keeping it in the original one till it gets bigger so it has holes to drain. Gonna try that. Thank u
I've seen so many plants that I repotted without untangling or from a plant that was gifted to me where the plant has stayed root bound despite being in a larger pot...
My only plant that grows without drainage holes is rice, because by definition it grows in water. I think it's a lot safer to keep the holes, because by accident you can add way too much extra water, make a true miniature swamp, and it will be very difficult to get rid off. Being too careful, on the other hand, will result in consistent underwatering.
Drainage holes are safer, but you don’t need them if you know how much water your plants need. I have a lot of happy succulents and common house plants like philodendron that don’t have drainage holes. There are some plants that you have to be extra careful with, like echeveria, pothos and ZZ plants. But even then you can make it work by being careful.
Oh damned... If I had watched this before... I repoted my makoyana calathea a few weeks ago (cause the roots were going out of the pot, I had to cut the pot to free my plant, what a mess, I could not wait any longer). I did not want to keep the old substrate cause my calathea got cochineals a few months earlier, and I wanted to be absolutely sure the problem would be solved). So I removed it, and of course, the roots were damaged (I guess). Well, the plant has never looked so bad... She has supported the pests, my over and underwatering, and now... I'm so sad, she was so beautiful and was growing so nicely ! Hope she's just a drama queen... By the way, thank you for all your contents, I've watched a lot of your videos since I've found your channel a few days ago. Thank you for sharing your useful tips and experience ! (I'm from france, sorry if my english is not perfect). Have a nice day ! =)
I hear you with the moisture and drainage. At first I only had pierced pot and quickly it became a pain in the ass to water them without ruining my furnitures and some or my plants I watered often felt always like they were thirsty and they were ! Now most of my pots retain water even my cactus. And I find that nutrients in soil is not washed any more so my plant can benefit it with no holes pot. And if by mistake you drown your roots and they start roting this is my advice : take one tablespoon of curcuma for half a liter of water then put your plant for 30min to an hour in the water, then take of the rotten roots and give your plant a pot I recently saved Haworthias with this method. If you try this on orchids it works wonders but filtrate the curcuma powder from the water si it doesn’t attach to the roots and keep your plant in a cup changing water everyday until the roots are green, fresh and new.
I have all my plants in pots with no drainage holes. The point is that you need to put 2-3cm of perlite or stone on the bottom, than some geotextile to separate from soil and than soil over it. This way all excess water leaks to the bottom and that way the vapor can water the soil slowly over time. I also never untangle roots and never had a problem.
I use a gravel drainage layer, just like I do in terrariums. I add a layer of horticultural charcoal on top of that then mesh then the soil. It really does work beautifully, for both terrariums AND houseplants.
I have a rubber plant cutting in a pot without drainage and it is doing well, but I am careful to not overwater it. When it gets up-potted, I will then drill a drainage hole in that pot. I prefer to plant directly into the decorative pots. I use a 1/2" diamond tip hole saw for those drainage holes. I have the same moisture meter you do and there have been many times when the meter disagreed with my finger test. I trust the meter more than my finger.
@@SheffieldMadePlants Start the drill slowly, with just one corner of it until it gets some bite in the ceramic, then you can gradually lower it to drill evenly and speed up some. You also need to put a little water in the spot you are drilling to keep it cooled off. I've only cracked one pot. It was from a thrift shop and I think it was actually a cookie/biscuit jar shaped like a big apple that was missing the lid. So the ceramic wasn't as tough as most plant pots or coffee mugs. I was able to hot glue it back together and my ZZ plant has been in it for about a year. It's a great way of making use of some interesting containers and mugs for my plants.
I have a jade plant in a pot with no drainage holes and she has lived several years in the same pot. I just squeeze the leaves to see if the jade plant need water.
You mentioned giving plants a rehydrating bath in cold water. I definitely agree that giving dry plants a good soak is ideal. (My orchids are growing much better after i switched them to the same "soak and dry" approach i use with my succulents and cactus, much to my surprise.) But I routinely try to make sure I'm using room temperature water. With succulents, I've noticed that cold (or overly warm) water seems to cause unsightly edema, which just happens sometimes with my outdoor plants after a sudden, chilly rain, but no longer happens to my indoor succulents' leaves. With my regular houseplants, I use room temperature water for them also. Especially after a repot, I'd worry that cold water could increase a possibility of transplant shock, which may not happen often, but is always a risk. Have you noticed or do you know of specific benefits from cold water? My observations haven't been exactly scientific, and it is inconvenient sometimes to wait for water to equilibrate to room temp...
@@SheffieldMadePlants Ah! I'm in Southern California 😄. That explains the difference in how much of a shock cold water might be to our respective plants. I just found your channel and I'm enjoying it so much. I love seeing your gorgeous plants 🤗.
@@SheffieldMadePlants My plants have it made in the shade, if they're the lucky ones I can manage to find some shade for. This summer's sunlight and heat were so intense, I had to rig some midday shade even for plants that have been acclimated to full sun for years. And indoors, it's all about grow lights, ironically. I can't let sunlight come through the windows in summer or the house becomes unbearably hot. So your options to choose an east, west, or south-facing window to best suit each plant leave me a bit jealous too!
The wrinkly finger analogy really made me laugh, whilst root rot is no laughing matter the idea of their little roots going all wrinkly because they’ve been in the bath too long really is 😅 We also tend to forget that in humans wrinkly fingers are a great thing! It helps us with grip whilst our hands are wet and are a pretty cool evolutionary tool.
@@George1789 Are you alone and without God in the world ? Have you no hope of life after death ? What are you even here for , George ? Did everything really come from nothing ? Is that logical do you think ?
I have two very large asparagus ferns a, grape ivy, and 2 clivia. Theyre in 10-12" pots. They spend the summer outdoors and are all over 8 years old. I keep them in the same size pots and every couple years I take a serrated knife and cut away about 1/2 inch all around the outside and bottom of the root ball. I put them back in the pot with new soil at the bottom and then fill in with new soil around the outside and top. All are doing well and the clivia and asparagus fern bloom. (I wouldnt do this with my smallee plants. I would typically move them to larger pots or divide them.) They are all in sturdy plastic pots with good drainage.
I've got a Boston fern and a golden pothos straight in decorative pots and they are doing magnificently. I have to prune the pothos often or she overtake my room separator 😅
i was and still is broken hearted when my succulents died ( newbie here ) but before i was into soiless plant care.... now im back to growing plants in water and wont be touching soil ever
When I repot and untangle the roots, my goal is more to remove as much old soil as I can. The problem is that it's harder to evenly distribute the new soil under the root ball, it can create big pockets of air and when those disappear, the plant can move and not be straight upright anymore. I don't know if I'm clear.
@@SheffieldMadePlants That's what I do too. And that's after the first watering that the plant collapses a bit. Anyway, I will apply what you say in the video because now that I fertilize and repot regularly, the soil isn't in such a bad shape that I need to discard as much as possible of it.
I only tease the roots out if they look congested/rootbound. Otherwise i just pot up a size or two. If I want it back in the same pot I'll cut the roots to give it room to spread again.
I put tree small cactus plants in a terracotta saucer, like two years ago. And they are super happy, growing like crazy, making babies and having a blast. I water them once a month perhaps and only if the soil is bone dry of cause 😉👌
I use a lot of fabric pots, so the roots largely self-prune while others grow through the fabric to a water catcher. The downside is that the fabric pots can be difficult to remove, but the benefit is there's usually no knotted root ball and no winding roots circling the center trying to find a way to escape. When the roots hit air, they just stop. But, fabric pots also dry out fast unless watered daily or on a drip system. They also tend to grow some slime, mold, and/or moss on their exterior, so for an indoor plant, best to put the fabric pot inside a nicer looking pot, but with an air gap between the two walls.
@@SheffieldMadePlants I live in the humid southeast with good rainfall, so outdoor and greenhouse plants tend to get root rot in plastic or even terracotta pots - or at the very least have that anaerobic smell when repotting them along with the typical winding, matted roots lots of pots get. The fabric pots get better oxygen to the roots, prevent the root winding/balling issue, and almost completely eliminate root rot. But, they are indeed a challenge if you don't have a drip system or a way to regularly water them (but slowly so water doesn't leak and pour out of the fabric!) I have a trade-off by including a drip tray about an inch deep and the same size as the fabric pot for the smaller pots so if a plant is thirsty, it can grow roots down to that moist dirt that rests at the water level - also, the fabric and soil will wick up moisture from the drip tray over time. But, I wouldn't use the method indoors and/or lower humidity areas unless it's a plant that can tolerate dry soil as they'll dry out much faster. (and the fabric won't look as nice as an ornamental pot, but it could be placed inside another pot w/ a small air gap) fabric pots work exceptionally well for most of the plants I grow (especially tomatoes) - I got the idea from some folks who grow trees & it was a way to prevent them from growing knotted roots by self-pruning their root systems so they'd be prepped for transport and easy planting into the ground without damaging the root systems and their ability to grow large naturally. I've never had happier strawberries, bananas, herbs, pineapples, custard apples, blackberries - you name it. :) My neighbors now use fabric pots for their tomatoes and such, too. There are pros and cons to using them, but they're worth a try if you want to experiment with them sometime.
Got it. Finger the plant deeply. If your finger is moist, you're doing a good job with your fingering. I mean watering. I am a first time plant owner with a bonsai tree, and he's doing very well this first month of ownership. Leaves were yellow ish, which I remembered was lack of nitrogen from science lessons way back at school, but your videos have been informative.
I have only cactus, suculent and 2 pot of herbs. Except my flat parsley, they're all in no drainage pots. My suculent are in the cheap Ikea ceramics pots. Almost all looks amazing. I have one who have some leafs who leaks and it's super gross... I'm gonna trim it and change the soil for suculent soil instead of black dirth for pots. I'm really excited to see my orchid growing tho. I got her recently and I made a little glass pot with rocks, moss and then the orchid.
So I messed up by not repotting my gifted money tree for ehh I don’t know, 4-5 years since I’ve gotten it and decided to do it today. I know I’m an awful plant parent, but I didn’t plan to see what a disaster I was about to unfold. As you can imagine, it was incredibly rootbound, but not only that it was also rock hard. I couldn’t untangle the roots even if I wanted. I tried soaking it and the soil/roots wouldn’t break apart, it was a solid brick. I just plopped that root brick into a bigger pot and now hoping for the best. 🙃
Some plants have to have their roots removed. Fiddle Leaf figs are one plant you don't have to disturb the roots and ZZ's, put others absolutely do, but it's best to just take a knife and cut across the ball.
For years, I've kept most of my houseplants in pots with no drain holes. I learned years ago that it was easier for me to keep them alive and doing well WITHOUT drain holes. I'm more likely to underwater plants than overwater, so that's worked golden for me.
This channel got me to buy a moisture meter! I keep my plants in their nursery pots and just nest those in decorative pots, but even after checking the soil with my finger I'm still over-watering some of my babies 😞 Hopefully your tips will help me save them!
Hey there! Brilliant video as usual! So I've been a plant mummy for many years and never touched the roots when I repotted only because I hate getting my hands dirty, and worse, getting soil under my nails - errrr🤢 (I usually have long natural nails, but use latex gloves for those kind of jobs now I'm rapidly approaching my dotage🤣). I have a large Bird of Paradise and also a large money plant (Jade). I will move them both up a size in the spring (if they can hang on until then). The BoP is virtually climbing out of its pot and I'm hoping it will flower next year for the first time. (It sent out a twin, conjoined green leaf which looks very much in the shape of the flower head, and around three other twin leaves all were conjoined - very strange, but exciting! The money plant's soil has become compacted/hard but still it's soldiering on. I will start top dressing after this next move up, methinks.
@@SheffieldMadePlants Sounds so bit lame but I'm really excited about my first ever flower from my BoP. I've had it from it was tiny (I love growing from babies or cuttings). This is my 2nd BoP. I killed the other one🙈 so this is so special to me
I red-pot the exact same way without disturbing roots at all. Time it out properly so that roots dont become overgrown and root bound and simply right into a larger pot. I rarely ever have any sign of "transplant shock" EVER this way. Two main keys: Dont wait too long(rootbound) and use good quality soil in your re-pot. I like to use Michorrizal fungi when transplanting each time as well.
Plant newbie here, my Pothos was growing roots out of the bottom, I did not untangle the roots before placing her in the new pot. LOL I just assumed the plant roots would know how to stretch into the new space. Go ahead laugh, I am. Never knew there was such a thing as untangling roots. She is doing great, yes I personify my plants.......all 3 of them. :)
It depends on how root bound your plant is as far as if you should break up the roots or not. In the past I have killed plants by not breaking up the roots a bit. You shouldn’t shock them too much by ripping them apart but sometimes they do need to have a means to expand into the soil. Sometimes I buy plants on the discount shelf and when I bring them home they tend to be extremely root bound. If your plant has mostly just roots left in the pot you are going to need to loosen those roots at least a little. When the roots are so circular that they are winding around each other and the soil is almost all gone the roots have no ability to break loose and begin growing into the new soil. By that point the plant is so compromised that it will not be able to survive long enough to grow roots that will go into the soil. If the plant is already weakened because of poor care you need to help the roots along. However, if you still have some soil in the pot and the roots are not growing around each other you can put the rootball into the new soil and it will figure it out. That root ball that has hardly any soil in it needs to be able to access the nutrients of the soil that is now only around them and not in the root ball. Hopefully you understand what I am getting at. There is no hard and fast rule. Just use some common sense and do what you believe the plant needs. Always be gentle.
So I recently changed the soil of my ficus ginseng plant because it was giving yellow leaves. The previous repot I did not detangle, just cut bottom third of the roots. Now it was just compacted in the same shape I had left it with, the soil in the middle had become hydrophobic and I ended up detangling it quite a bit to get rid of it mostly. Hope it survives, please cheer for me.
The potting directly into a bigger pot is something I’ve done for years. It’s perfectly fine to do. Though I do feel guilty sometimes, like my massive bird of paradise I should have given special treatment for… oh well next time
i agree that you dont have to untangle roots even if they go around the pot unless the trunk is going to eventually grow larger that this ring of roots (like with trees) otherwise it just wont hurt your plants .. when you are repotting succulent plants, feel the leaves, if they are thick and hard they are full of water and thats the best time to do it.. if they are soft and marshmallow like then water it and wait a week to transplant it.. its not a good idea to water succulents after you repot them and if you are planting into pots without holes, put some water into a cup or vessel that wont overwhelm your plant and water from there.. if you take it to the sink and turn on the tap or use a watering can you just cant tell how much water is going into the pot so measure out the amount of water you are going to use first
Giving the plant a bath : Interesting idea to remove the plant from the pot ; however I just drop the plant and pot in tub water with liquid fertilizer and leave it / forget about it; even over night . As long as there is good drainage I have no problems --- even with succulents .
I recently repoted my monstera using worm castings which I later found out had vine weevil grubs!!!( I think that's where they came from). I can't find a Vidio on this pest. Please would you consider making one? I used this same soil mix to repot about four other plants. My monstera had hardly any roots on taking it out of the pot so maybe this is why the aerial roots had not grown more than an inch. Im surprised it's still alive at all. I did comment on another Vidio though you may not remember as you get so many comments. You said you wondered why the aerial roots had not grown. Maybe the weevil were actually already in the rootball and did not come out of the bag of worm castings as I first thought. Thanks for another great Vidio.xSarah.Devon.
Studies on forest trees showed roots that curled from binding never straighten out even after a decade, they just keep curling around and around. For trees, this is a major problem since eventually trees can girdle their own root system and strangle it (pulling up the dead trees is how they found out, then doing an official study). Cutting roots is still a good plan if they're bound in a container. But let's face it, the eventual shape will again be curled so turning back the clock with root trim is only temporary unless the plant has plenty of room NOT in a container. Roots are sensitive to overwatering because they need oxygen for micro organisms help to finish the nitrogen cycle. Submerged, roots do OK for awhile until the water is exhausted of oxygen, and then root rot starts. Soil needs roughly 30% oxygen for root health, so even a waterlogged pot without drainage holes will be OK provided the pot isn't so deep Oxygen can't diffuse down far enough to reach roots and provide the leafage above is ample enough to evaporate uptake fast enough.
I have three plants in pots without drainage holes. They are all dead. If your pot is awkward shaped, you can always get one of those deli containers and heat it up with a hairdryer or a torch and press it into your new pot until it fits inside of it nicely. And then put drainage holes in the bottom of it.
Orchids are pretty hardy. Especially phals (the ones you see most often in stores). I have a bunch of phals, oncidiums, and a couple cattleya and they’ve survived so much neglect, I’m amazed at their resiliency. Get one, you probably won’t kill it 🤗
untangling th roots seems like an odd concept to me. I was taught to break apart the roots, whether theyre rootbound or not. Like stick your fingers in there and rip the roots apart. The tearing of the roots stimulates new growth in them, and it allows you to easily spread apart the major root systems evenly when putting it into the new pot.
If you want to start putting your plants in pots without drainage holes, start teaching yourself signs of stress on the plants. Its really easy. Stick your finger in the soil up to your 2nd knuckle. If the soil comes back with your finger, the soil is still moist. If your plant tag says let it dry between watering, wait to water. If it says do not let it dry, water it. If the soil is squishy, it probably has too much water no matter the plant. *Almost never water your succulents and cacti, especially in cooler climates - the soil should be DRY before watering. Over and under watering will show as yellowing (overwatering/not enough sun) or browning (underwatering/too much sun) leaves. Do a quick google search to see if the amount of sun its in is too much or too little (direct sun, indirect sun, some shade/some sun). If it's correct, change your watering from there. If not, simply move the plant to a better location to match the lighting. If you're a beginner, I know it sounds like a lot. But once you've kept one plant alive, you'll start to notice these things naturally anyway, and they're your number one tool to keeping healthy, happy plants, no matter the pot you plant them in. Happy gardening! ✨
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well actually pots without drainage holes aren't a problem just becouse you can overwater them, the problem is all about having stagnant water, if the water moves away it clean the soil from eccessive mold and microorganisms. if the water doesn't escape from the pot then the plant can be damaged more easly.
Sure if you keep the soil with low levels of moisture then the problem almost don't exist, but it also depend on the plant ability to resist stagnant water or molds.
Hi! I've been enjoying your videos. I'm having trouble/I keep killing my succulents because I don't know what I'm doing till it's too late - so now I've watched your videos and I'm going to try to do better now. lol I liked your tip about not touching the leaves of the ones w beneficial 'powder' on them. Didnt know that.
--> I've used a plastic serrated lettuce knife to trim the bottom 3rd of roots on one of my rootbounds. Plant was looking awful anyway so now I can watch to see if I fixed it. The lettuce knife is easy to clean potting soil off of, non-rustable if I don't, and is now a dedicated gardening root tool.
I figured plant roots were the same consistency as lettuce/sprouts so it made sense to me to try it.
IDEAS: I have a bad habit of overwatering pots w no drainage holes. I use my plant meter to show me that I overwatered but then what can I do about it? So I think to try this to get the excess water out without disturbing the plant too much:
--> Cut up a man-made chamois cloth for car into typical 'plant tags' shapes of different lengths/widths (for different depth pots) so pointy end can be pushed when dry/hard through soil at side of pot to bottom/pooled water
[like Shammy brand for instance, but any brand cuz all man-made shammies are hard like thick cardboard when they're thoroughly dry so I think it will work if tags are pushed down to bottom quickly].
Pull out soggy shammy tags, wash off, wring out, let dry flat till stiff again. Use additional dry tags until excess water is removed from pot.
THEORY: The shammy tags will #1 soak up overwater until excess water has been removed #2 aerate the soil a bit to help plant breathe #3 are reusable indefinitely
Is that crazy? I'm going to try it to apologize to my plants for my occasional brown thumb. At least they'll have a better chance of surviving me.
--> Ive been using the dehumidifier water from my Eva-Dry mini dehumidifier to water my plants since I rarely remember to collect rainwater. I've been doing this for a year and my plants haven't complained and look better than if I use tap water. My plants seem happy with it. In my mind, this water is as good as rainwater since it doesn't have the chemicals that tap water contains and no acid rain.
--> This Winter I also used my old Brita filter pitcher using almost depleted filters to make extra houseplant water when needed because dehumidifier in winter doesn't produce enough. The filters are leftovers ready to be thrown out (according to manufacturer) but I believe still a little life left in them/just not full strength filtering cuz they're 3-4 mo. old from my normal daily use
Is that also crazy/bad idea?
Well, those are some of the tricks I've experimented with to improve my houseplant caretaker responsibilities.
Thanks for your videos 💚💚💚🌿🌱🌵
@@CrescentMoonPye cool thank you for the tips 👍
Instead of a water meter, I use bamboo skewers! You can get them in 200-packs for cheap and just stick them in your pots (and they're even helpful to support plants that need it). If the look bothers you, you can cut them smaller so they just come out of your soil enough to pull them easily. When you want to water, just pull out the skewer and check to see if it's damp at the bottom, then stick it right back in. It's especially helpful with very large pots where it can be almost impossible to figure out whether the soil has dried all the way down!
Neat idea 💡
Thank you - I'm going to use that or a wooden popsicle stick from now on! The meters I tried previously never functioned as advertised. But the wood would be easy - you can see the soil cling if slightly damp. Brilliant idea! (Although I don't mind dirty fingers - I also cook a lot - and so cleaner fingers are wiser when one does a lot of food handling!)
2:57-3:18 The problem here is actually soil compaction. Most of the soil is still in the pot, but the roots compressed it, leaving no space for it to fill with water. It's like a sponge that's always being squeezed. The reason rootbound plants will dry out, rather than get overwatered from drinking "too quickly", is that the water you try to give them will run right through the pot.
Very true thanks 👍
@@SheffieldMadePlants 8:06, great content from a lifetime gardener here. Suggestion: when suggesting a video at the end, leave it up for 6-8 seconds, not 3. Let there be extra seconds at the end to play out so people have time to click on the suggested video.
I like how this guy is saying the truth: DON'T OVERCOMPLICATE things. It's all about experience and patience. My grandpa is a farmer his whole life, he can basically grow anything in styrofoam boxes with no holes(or anything he has lying around), and dirt he dug up from the garden, and everything he grows is in better shape than the one I do. There are many things to learn about plant cares, but it's never "a thing that you have to buy".
Nice one thanks 👍
Even I have put a jade plant in no drainage hole pot after looking into your short video. Its working. I'm extra careful while watering. Your videos inspires everyone to have jungle in their home. Please please do make a video on soil mix and its importance. Also on pots, whether to use plastic pots or terracotta or ceramic.
Thanks Sushma. I’ll have a think about those ideas.
I have tried to take the guess work out of watering. I use a kitchen scale. Weigh the plant dry. Add a measured amount of water with a sprayer. And I can check the weight to see how much water is in the pot. I try to add an amount of water that drys out within 3-5 days. If it doesn’t dry out in that time I give it less water next time. Doing this also fixed fi gas gnats for me.
That's a great idea!
This is brilliant!! Mind. Blown.
Is Virgo one of your signs; Sunshine, moon sign or rising sign? The reason I ask is that I'm a Virgo rising in that sounds like something I would do😂
I always relocate a spider I've found in the house on to one of my houseplants where gnats are zooming around. The spider usually stays in the region where I put her/him and catches all the gnats for me. Win-win usually.
Have a great summer.
Oh man, you just made me realise where all these gnats in my house came from. I've got a bit of a black thumb, so usually don't have house plants, but I bought a plant the other week and accidentally overwatered it. It all makes sense. LMAO. oof.
When I repot I don’t really “untangle” the roots, but I poke at them with a chopstick or something similar and shake it to get all of the old dirt out. The roots are the same as before, except naked.
Nice tip, thanks 👍
I wish I stumbled on your channel before. I’ve seen hundreds of diy plant videos; yours are concise and provide tips I wish I knew before. Great job and thanks!
Thanks very much 👍
I realy enjoy repotting, i find it quite relaxing. (especially if its possible to do it outside, then theres less mess to clean afterward)
I find it stressful 😂
I enjoy it as well!
Recently, I repotted a fig that was really rootbound - I set it in a pot of water for a few hours and the roots which were incredibly tight relaxed a lot. 3 weeks have passed and it looks pretty happy.
Sounds great!
I took your advice and bought a moisture meter last month. It’s made a huge difference. Thank you for all your tips and your excellent videos!
Cool thanks!
I bought 2 of those from Amazon and they were absolutely inaccurate and useless! Both returned. Better use your fingers as mentioned in the video.
I grow most of my plants in pots without drainage holes, even snake plants. I've been doing this for 38 years. I just don't drown them.
Spot on 👌
Oh, good to know that roots are pretty tough. I untangled my Peace Lilly’s roots and thought I did it too roughly. They are still in shock from the repotting but at least they’re not dead. I did lose a a few stems per plant but the rest still look fine. Let’s hope they all survive.
They’ll be fine 👍
Most of my succulents and cacti are in pots without drainage holes, mostly glass and glazed ceramics, and they have done fantastic for years!
My tropicals are in plastic pots with drainage. I'm a chronic under-waterer so it works well for me!
Thanks Sylvie 😁
I totally agree as I never untangled unless as you said base of plant is getting strangled. I also make sure that the dirt is not packed in tight.
I use old fly screen at the bottom of my plants so the dirt doesn't fall out the bottom of the pots but it does let the water out really well. As I get very annoyed if I have to vacuum the dirt off as I move them into the shower and it then goes back exactly where I took it from as plants definitely hate being moved around but I do rotate my plants around every time I water. That way they grow more evenly...
Thanks Louise. Thanks for the fly screen tip. Rotating is definitely worthwhile 😁
I have a pretty pot w/o drainage holes in which I put 2 Aloe Vera plants. They are doing great! I haven't watered them in about a year though! 😁
Mykos, a grandular Endomycorrihizael innoculant, sprinkled directly on the roots, for best effect, can enable the root zone to absorb 10-1000X the amount of water and nutrients.
I always use this when transplanting, and usually into a fabric pot, that "air prunes" the roots, and makes them impossible to spiral around and get "root bound". Great aeration, and "all roots" through all the soil.
A great topic to look into, for the healthiest root zone available! Grow smarter, not harder.
Thanks for the great video!👍💯✌️
Thanks for the tip
When I repot I usually just leave the roots alone unless I am separating pups from the mother plant. I like to amend my promix soil with lots of course sand (about half and half) for extra drainage for succulents and coco coir for tropical plants and of course perlite for everything. I can never seem to keep plants alive in a pot with no drainage holes. I always either plant them in a plastic pot with holes and then put that in a decorative pot or plant them into a terracotta pot with a saucer, that way it is easy to bottom water without having to move the plant. A good tip for using pretty pots with weird shapes is to save your plastic containers, always be on the lookout, I save the few water bottles that I use and plastic food containers and turn them into pots with drainage with the hot tip of a hot glue gun to make holes and cut them to size I figured out that water bottles and Kaft Parmesan containers work great in cute mugs with straight sides and cream cheese containers work great for short squat pots. Those little plastic cups with lids they put condiments in when you get takeout perfect for tiny pots. The big 2L soda bottles and 4L+ sized water bottles are good for larger containers too.
Super, thanks for the tips. Very inventive, I like it!
Brilliant. Thanks!!
I have rosemary in my kitchen in a Terra cotta pot without drainage holes and I have Pilea glauca in a small planter without drainage holes. The Terra cotta dries the rosemary up enough that watering once a week is just fine for it. And the planter for the pilia keeps the roots just damp enough to water it once a week instead of every other day. Non drainage planters are also almost perfect for my nerve plant, but it does start getting dramatic for the last day or so prior to watering.
Dramatic 😂
I learned this the hard way, my plants failed after repotting then I read an article that said not to disturb the roots and ever since have done wonders.
👍
I have lots of pothos in pots without drainage holes and they are all very happy. Also some succulents as well!
Nice 👌
I hate repotting too. And I have the same moisture meter. It's a great tool since I hate sticking my finger in the soil 😂I've kind of been disregarding the "zones" listed on the back of the box, though, and I just wait until the meter reads dry and water them till it says wet. 🤷🏻♀
I love it, a real game changer
I guess the zones would depend , literally , where on earth you live !
Ooooohhhh.. this is revolutionary! I had no idea you didn't have to "free the roots" 😂
Thank you! 🙌
Glad it was helpful!
That’s true I have a few plants in pots without drainage holes ( small kalanchoes, small succulents, a few cactus, portulagas) and they are doing great , I have them in full sun, I m very carefull how much water I give them and they thrive !!! I agree. Of course it needs a bit of experience to do it. If somebody is a beginner it is more safe to keep drainage holes in all his plants! Congratulations for your work !!
Great, thanks Stella 😁
I don’t have a moisture meter but I save the bamboo/wooden coffee stirrers (lolly sticks & kebab skewers) and insert them right down to the base of my potted plants. Then pull them out, feel the residual soil sticking to the stick, if it is wet-damp that indicates plant does not need to be watered yet. If it is dry obviously that’s the time for a good watering. This technique coupled with lifting the plant pot to check if it feels lighter (= time to water) or still a bit heavy (= don’t water yet) has always worked very well for me.
The sticks also come in useful to turn and aerate the top of the soil. I also ‘stir’ in dried tea leaves (which feeds the plants) and also keeps them looking beautiful and neat in their pots.
Nice tips, thanks PC!
@@SheffieldMadePlants Oh thank YOU. I have been binge watching your videos and appreciate your knowledge!
@@piccadilly171 love that!
I would say that about half of my plants are in pots with no drainage holes.. I just give them a little "splash" like once a week (or when they're dry).. Works perfectly!! The only reason I even use the containers in my pots anymore is because it makes it so much easier to do a quick soil change 😉 But unfortunately I killed a bunch of beauties before I learned that lesson 😫🥀😂 Anyways, thank you for your videos!! I always learn something new!!
Thank you very much Sandy 😁
I do this treatment to my bonsays. Works a treat!
Perfect 👍
I place about an inch or two of LECA at the bottom of clear pots with no drainage holes. I make sure the roots are not submerged in the water and the LECA helps provide water without drowning the roots. I place pots with drainage holes on top of LECA or gravel. This enables some air circulation, run off from my overwatering, and provides humidity.
I need to try leca for sure
You are absolutely right about roots being resilient. When I first started my plant journey my mom forced me to cut overgrown roots every time I repotted plants. And it somehow never hurt any plant and they still grew. Nowadays some plants I look at the roots and I don’t touch them because I don’t see the point, some plants have tiny thin roots, no point in cutting them because they don’t take up that much room
Absolutely they always bounce back
I love watching me Mr Sheffield
😁
When I repot, I wet the soil I'm going to use, before I put it in the pot. After soaking the plant in water, it's placed into the new pot with the new WET soil and I'm done. I repotted my giant monstera once and had only a big pot without holes. I used it and it lived in that pot for years because I was careful on watering. I've also put succulents in pots without holes. I love all your tutorials. I find I've done some things wrong and some things right. Thank you.
Nice repotting technique. I never think to pre-water the soil. Thanks for watching.
I did just the same. It's not messy and saves me time.
👊
My UPG is that untangling the roots is best practice- I've had plants almost die because I didn't do that, even though they were only mildly root bound when I replanted, but it's nice to see others are having success with not doing that! (And don't share my particular neurosis lol)
Sure it wasn’t something else 🤔?
@@SheffieldMadePlants it might have been! I'm just paranoid of not doing it now lol
@@notlurking2128 I can understand that 😁
I rarely untangle roots! I didn’t even know you were supposed to!! By the time I found out, I’d already successfully repotted so many, I just didn’t want to fix something that didn’t seem broken! And the few times I did give it a go, the plant didn’t make it because it died before it could dry out
@@rachellongcrier2236 exactly!
i like the bath thing. one of my plants seem to like it alot so i actually just kept it there.
something i like the most about plants is to just experiment with them. now my Syngonium who lived inside soil for most of its life and she wasnt looking to good when i got her, is living in water only and she seems to love it. basicly just a pot without holes, but the cleaned up rootball inside and fill it up with some water and a bit of fertilizer added and leave it be and she somehow loves it.
Great stuff 👍
I concur with most of his advice, and I like his direct approach with a simple and sensible explanation of why. Watering in the sink, however, gives me anxiety. I did that and despite my best efforts to keep the soil and pumice from going down the drain, enough did go down that we ended up having to snake the drain for a couple of hours (or call a plumber, which would have been USD$250 for the call). Now I use a big bucket, then dump the water on my backyard tree roots or front deck planters. Good advice overall, than you!
Thanks for watching 😁
Was thinking much the same.
Another poster suggested small pieces of window screen in the bottom of pot drainage holes - which solves some of it, but yes, a bucket that gets dumped outside on outdoor plants - ideally, or at the very least in the toilet (assuming apt living, or frigid weather) with the last bits going in the garbage can, are going to be far better for one's plumbing.
Absolutely love the pink ceiling.
Thanks 😊
I just started using used glass jars as pots. Somehow the plants look cuter 😍
Fun aren’t they
@@SheffieldMadePlants 💚
This is great for people struggling with mental health
Thanks 🙏
I find that self watering pots are really useful, especially for big plants. I have a plant that is over 1m tall and it likes to drink water, especially in the summer.
They’re good 👍
I never untangle the roots and my plants are still fine after years.
I finally got a moisturizer meter, what a difference, the soil always felt dry to touch but the meter would say it had plenty down by the roots.
Absolute game changer!
I'm a newbie to house plants I pot my plants like you just put it in larger pot as it is there perfectly happy ❤your videos there my go too for any questions I have thank you for sharing your knowledge 😊 my plants have a greater chance of doing well thanks to you
Wonderful!
So happy I found ur channel. I always plant my in another pot when I get home. Never thought about keeping it in the original one till it gets bigger so it has holes to drain. Gonna try that. Thank u
Glad it was helpful!
I've seen so many plants that I repotted without untangling or from a plant that was gifted to me where the plant has stayed root bound despite being in a larger pot...
My only plant that grows without drainage holes is rice, because by definition it grows in water. I think it's a lot safer to keep the holes, because by accident you can add way too much extra water, make a true miniature swamp, and it will be very difficult to get rid off. Being too careful, on the other hand, will result in consistent underwatering.
Sure there’s nothing wrong with drainage. I just believe there is another option available if you don’t want drainage holes
@Queen Christopher The Merciful 🤴 In summer my rice is "flooded". In winter watered. Extra water evaporates.
@Queen Christopher The Merciful 🤴 I mean that since overwatering isn't a problem for rice, it can be easily kept in pots without drainage holes.
Drainage holes are safer, but you don’t need them if you know how much water your plants need. I have a lot of happy succulents and common house plants like philodendron that don’t have drainage holes. There are some plants that you have to be extra careful with, like echeveria, pothos and ZZ plants. But even then you can make it work by being careful.
Oh damned... If I had watched this before... I repoted my makoyana calathea a few weeks ago (cause the roots were going out of the pot, I had to cut the pot to free my plant, what a mess, I could not wait any longer). I did not want to keep the old substrate cause my calathea got cochineals a few months earlier, and I wanted to be absolutely sure the problem would be solved). So I removed it, and of course, the roots were damaged (I guess). Well, the plant has never looked so bad... She has supported the pests, my over and underwatering, and now... I'm so sad, she was so beautiful and was growing so nicely ! Hope she's just a drama queen...
By the way, thank you for all your contents, I've watched a lot of your videos since I've found your channel a few days ago. Thank you for sharing your useful tips and experience ! (I'm from france, sorry if my english is not perfect).
Have a nice day ! =)
English is great and thanks for watching 👍 Your Calathea might bounce back after a rehab. Hope it does
I hear you with the moisture and drainage. At first I only had pierced pot and quickly it became a pain in the ass to water them without ruining my furnitures and some or my plants I watered often felt always like they were thirsty and they were ! Now most of my pots retain water even my cactus. And I find that nutrients in soil is not washed any more so my plant can benefit it with no holes pot. And if by mistake you drown your roots and they start roting this is my advice : take one tablespoon of curcuma for half a liter of water then put your plant for 30min to an hour in the water, then take of the rotten roots and give your plant a pot I recently saved Haworthias with this method. If you try this on orchids it works wonders but filtrate the curcuma powder from the water si it doesn’t attach to the roots and keep your plant in a cup changing water everyday until the roots are green, fresh and new.
Cool, thanks for the tip 👍
I have all my plants in pots with no drainage holes. The point is that you need to put 2-3cm of perlite or stone on the bottom, than some geotextile to separate from soil and than soil over it. This way all excess water leaks to the bottom and that way the vapor can water the soil slowly over time.
I also never untangle roots and never had a problem.
I don't even bother with that to be honest.
I use a gravel drainage layer, just like I do in terrariums. I add a layer of horticultural charcoal on top of that then mesh then the soil. It really does work beautifully, for both terrariums AND houseplants.
I have a bonsais that is 14 yes old in a Chinese bowl! No drainage holes at all. Looks good, thrives in it. Just check the moisture
Nice!
My obifloria calathea has been in a pot with no drainage holes, i simple pick it up and use my handy dandy finger. Never been a problem
👍👍👍
I m growing pothos in ports with no drainage holes in direct sunlight and it is growing good
👍👍👍
I have a rubber plant cutting in a pot without drainage and it is doing well, but I am careful to not overwater it. When it gets up-potted, I will then drill a drainage hole in that pot. I prefer to plant directly into the decorative pots. I use a 1/2" diamond tip hole saw for those drainage holes. I have the same moisture meter you do and there have been many times when the meter disagreed with my finger test. I trust the meter more than my finger.
Never tried drilling a drainage hole before. I’m scared the pot will break
@@SheffieldMadePlants Start the drill slowly, with just one corner of it until it gets some bite in the ceramic, then you can gradually lower it to drill evenly and speed up some. You also need to put a little water in the spot you are drilling to keep it cooled off. I've only cracked one pot. It was from a thrift shop and I think it was actually a cookie/biscuit jar shaped like a big apple that was missing the lid. So the ceramic wasn't as tough as most plant pots or coffee mugs. I was able to hot glue it back together and my ZZ plant has been in it for about a year. It's a great way of making use of some interesting containers and mugs for my plants.
@@YoSpiff like it 😁
I have a jade plant in a pot with no drainage holes and she has lived several years in the same pot. I just squeeze the leaves to see if the jade plant need water.
Spot on 👌
You mentioned giving plants a rehydrating bath in cold water. I definitely agree that giving dry plants a good soak is ideal. (My orchids are growing much better after i switched them to the same "soak and dry" approach i use with my succulents and cactus, much to my surprise.)
But I routinely try to make sure I'm using room temperature water. With succulents, I've noticed that cold (or overly warm) water seems to cause unsightly edema, which just happens sometimes with my outdoor plants after a sudden, chilly rain, but no longer happens to my indoor succulents' leaves.
With my regular houseplants, I use room temperature water for them also. Especially after a repot, I'd worry that cold water could increase a possibility of transplant shock, which may not happen often, but is always a risk.
Have you noticed or do you know of specific benefits from cold water? My observations haven't been exactly scientific, and it is inconvenient sometimes to wait for water to equilibrate to room temp...
To be honest I’ve never noticed any problems with using cold water. Maybe because it’s always cold in Sheffield they are used to the cold 😅
@@SheffieldMadePlants Ah! I'm in Southern California 😄. That explains the difference in how much of a shock cold water might be to our respective plants.
I just found your channel and I'm enjoying it so much. I love seeing your gorgeous plants 🤗.
@@virginiaschabacker5712 thanks Virginia and I must say I'm jealous of where you live
@@SheffieldMadePlants My plants have it made in the shade, if they're the lucky ones I can manage to find some shade for. This summer's sunlight and heat were so intense, I had to rig some midday shade even for plants that have been acclimated to full sun for years. And indoors, it's all about grow lights, ironically. I can't let sunlight come through the windows in summer or the house becomes unbearably hot. So your options to choose an east, west, or south-facing window to best suit each plant leave me a bit jealous too!
@@virginiaschabacker5712 I heard about the California heat this year, sounds rough
The wrinkly finger analogy really made me laugh, whilst root rot is no laughing matter the idea of their little roots going all wrinkly because they’ve been in the bath too long really is 😅
We also tend to forget that in humans wrinkly fingers are a great thing! It helps us with grip whilst our hands are wet and are a pretty cool evolutionary tool.
That's interesting. Didn't dawn on me that's what was happening
@@SheffieldMadePlants a lot of people don’t. I was new info to me too up until a few years ago 😅 makes so much sense really when you think about it
@@George1789 Are you alone and without God in the world ?
Have you no hope of life after death ?
What are you even here for , George ?
Did everything really come from nothing ?
Is that logical do you think ?
I have two very large asparagus ferns a, grape ivy, and 2 clivia. Theyre in 10-12" pots. They spend the summer outdoors and are all over 8 years old. I keep them in the same size pots and every couple years I take a serrated knife and cut away about 1/2 inch all around the outside and bottom of the root ball. I put them back in the pot with new soil at the bottom and then fill in with new soil around the outside and top. All are doing well and the clivia and asparagus fern bloom. (I wouldnt do this with my smallee plants. I would typically move them to larger pots or divide them.) They are all in sturdy plastic pots with good drainage.
Funny you mention that because I’ve got a video coming about about root pruning. It needs to get out there more
@@SheffieldMadePlants Looking forward to your root pruning video.
I've got a Boston fern and a golden pothos straight in decorative pots and they are doing magnificently. I have to prune the pothos often or she overtake my room separator 😅
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i was and still is broken hearted when my succulents died ( newbie here ) but before i was into soiless plant care....
now im back to growing plants in water and wont be touching soil ever
I’m experimenting with soiless and I’m liking it
Fabulous indoor plant tips and advice. Sending lots of love and warm greetings from Missouri ♡
Great thank you 😁
Very beautiful plan thank you for sharing love your video keep coming have a blessed day
Thanks 🙏
Your content is stellar as always. Thank you for tip 1 it's saved me a lot of hassle today! ☺️
Cheers Jay
Cheers Jay
Cheers Jay
Cheers Jay
I unknowingly started doing this and it’s really has helped, your explanation makes sense thank you
Cool thanks Tim 😁
When I repot and untangle the roots, my goal is more to remove as much old soil as I can. The problem is that it's harder to evenly distribute the new soil under the root ball, it can create big pockets of air and when those disappear, the plant can move and not be straight upright anymore. I don't know if I'm clear.
I get ya. I tap and shake the pot so the soil gets in the air gaps. A good watering settles the soil too and I normally have to top up the soil after.
@@SheffieldMadePlants That's what I do too. And that's after the first watering that the plant collapses a bit. Anyway, I will apply what you say in the video because now that I fertilize and repot regularly, the soil isn't in such a bad shape that I need to discard as much as possible of it.
I only tease the roots out if they look congested/rootbound. Otherwise i just pot up a size or two. If I want it back in the same pot I'll cut the roots to give it room to spread again.
Exactly. Funny you mention that because I’ve got a root pruning video coming out in a couple of weeks.
@@SheffieldMadePlants Great. Looking forward to it :)
I put tree small cactus plants in a terracotta saucer, like two years ago. And they are super happy, growing like crazy, making babies and having a blast. I water them once a month perhaps and only if the soil is bone dry of cause 😉👌
Perfect 👍
Perfect 👍
I use a lot of fabric pots, so the roots largely self-prune while others grow through the fabric to a water catcher. The downside is that the fabric pots can be difficult to remove, but the benefit is there's usually no knotted root ball and no winding roots circling the center trying to find a way to escape. When the roots hit air, they just stop.
But, fabric pots also dry out fast unless watered daily or on a drip system. They also tend to grow some slime, mold, and/or moss on their exterior, so for an indoor plant, best to put the fabric pot inside a nicer looking pot, but with an air gap between the two walls.
Not tried fabric pots before. Sounds challenging!
@@SheffieldMadePlants I live in the humid southeast with good rainfall, so outdoor and greenhouse plants tend to get root rot in plastic or even terracotta pots - or at the very least have that anaerobic smell when repotting them along with the typical winding, matted roots lots of pots get.
The fabric pots get better oxygen to the roots, prevent the root winding/balling issue, and almost completely eliminate root rot. But, they are indeed a challenge if you don't have a drip system or a way to regularly water them (but slowly so water doesn't leak and pour out of the fabric!) I have a trade-off by including a drip tray about an inch deep and the same size as the fabric pot for the smaller pots so if a plant is thirsty, it can grow roots down to that moist dirt that rests at the water level - also, the fabric and soil will wick up moisture from the drip tray over time.
But, I wouldn't use the method indoors and/or lower humidity areas unless it's a plant that can tolerate dry soil as they'll dry out much faster. (and the fabric won't look as nice as an ornamental pot, but it could be placed inside another pot w/ a small air gap)
fabric pots work exceptionally well for most of the plants I grow (especially tomatoes) - I got the idea from some folks who grow trees & it was a way to prevent them from growing knotted roots by self-pruning their root systems so they'd be prepped for transport and easy planting into the ground without damaging the root systems and their ability to grow large naturally.
I've never had happier strawberries, bananas, herbs, pineapples, custard apples, blackberries - you name it. :) My neighbors now use fabric pots for their tomatoes and such, too.
There are pros and cons to using them, but they're worth a try if you want to experiment with them sometime.
@@Kingramze Cool, thanks for the tips 😃
Got it. Finger the plant deeply. If your finger is moist, you're doing a good job with your fingering. I mean watering. I am a first time plant owner with a bonsai tree, and he's doing very well this first month of ownership. Leaves were yellow ish, which I remembered was lack of nitrogen from science lessons way back at school, but your videos have been informative.
Keep fingering my friend
I have only cactus, suculent and 2 pot of herbs.
Except my flat parsley, they're all in no drainage pots. My suculent are in the cheap Ikea ceramics pots. Almost all looks amazing. I have one who have some leafs who leaks and it's super gross... I'm gonna trim it and change the soil for suculent soil instead of black dirth for pots.
I'm really excited to see my orchid growing tho. I got her recently and I made a little glass pot with rocks, moss and then the orchid.
Like the sound of your glass pot. The roots on orchids look funky
So I messed up by not repotting my gifted money tree for ehh I don’t know, 4-5 years since I’ve gotten it and decided to do it today. I know I’m an awful plant parent, but I didn’t plan to see what a disaster I was about to unfold.
As you can imagine, it was incredibly rootbound, but not only that it was also rock hard. I couldn’t untangle the roots even if I wanted. I tried soaking it and the soil/roots wouldn’t break apart, it was a solid brick.
I just plopped that root brick into a bigger pot and now hoping for the best. 🙃
It should bounce back 🤞
I put the round stones in the bottom of a pot without drainage holes.
I have a large chinese jade plant that is in a pot with no holes ,they don't need much water especially over winter so it's happy.
Exactly thanks Dee 👍
I have a Begonia rex with no drainage holes. It's been going great for years.
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I do the same thing as I take the plant and just put in the new pot .
It’s the way
Some plants have to have their roots removed. Fiddle Leaf figs are one plant you don't have to disturb the roots and ZZ's, put others absolutely do, but it's best to just take a knife and cut across the ball.
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i grow most of my pothos and syngonium in water so i guess i have several pots without holes and i dont have to worry about over/under watering
Nice!
For years, I've kept most of my houseplants in pots with no drain holes. I learned years ago that it was easier for me to keep them alive and doing well WITHOUT drain holes. I'm more likely to underwater plants than overwater, so that's worked golden for me.
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Love your channel. Teaching me a lot.
Awesome, thank you!
You make so much sense its incredible. Thank you.
Glad you think so! Thanks 😊
This channel got me to buy a moisture meter! I keep my plants in their nursery pots and just nest those in decorative pots, but even after checking the soil with my finger I'm still over-watering some of my babies 😞 Hopefully your tips will help me save them!
Nice one. Glad it’s been useful!
Hey there! Brilliant video as usual! So I've been a plant mummy for many years and never touched the roots when I repotted only because I hate getting my hands dirty, and worse, getting soil under my
nails - errrr🤢 (I usually have long natural nails, but use latex gloves for those kind of jobs now I'm rapidly approaching my dotage🤣). I have a large Bird of Paradise and also a large money plant (Jade). I will move them both up a size in the spring (if they can hang on until then). The BoP is virtually climbing out of its pot and I'm hoping it will flower next year for the first time. (It sent out a twin, conjoined green leaf which looks very much in the shape of the flower head, and around three other twin leaves all were conjoined - very strange, but exciting! The money plant's soil has become compacted/hard but still it's soldiering on. I will start top dressing after this next move up, methinks.
Thanks Marcia. A flower on your bop would look great 👍
@@SheffieldMadePlants Sounds so bit lame but I'm really excited about my first ever flower from my BoP. I've had it from it was tiny (I love growing from babies or cuttings). This is my 2nd BoP. I killed the other one🙈 so this is so special to me
I red-pot the exact same way without disturbing roots at all. Time it out properly so that roots dont become overgrown and root bound and simply right into a larger pot. I rarely ever have any sign of "transplant shock" EVER this way. Two main keys: Dont wait too long(rootbound) and use good quality soil in your re-pot. I like to use Michorrizal fungi when transplanting each time as well.
Nice tips thanks Landon 👍
You “rarely ever have transplant shock ever? “
YOU PLAYED YOURSELF
Plant newbie here, my Pothos was growing roots out of the bottom, I did not untangle the roots before placing her in the new pot. LOL I just assumed the plant roots would know how to stretch into the new space. Go ahead laugh, I am. Never knew there was such a thing as untangling roots. She is doing great, yes I personify my plants.......all 3 of them. :)
It’s the way to go 😁
It depends on how root bound your plant is as far as if you should break up the roots or not. In the past I have killed plants by not breaking up the roots a bit. You shouldn’t shock them too much by ripping them apart but sometimes they do need to have a means to expand into the soil. Sometimes I buy plants on the discount shelf and when I bring them home they tend to be extremely root bound. If your plant has mostly just roots left in the pot you are going to need to loosen those roots at least a little. When the roots are so circular that they are winding around each other and the soil is almost all gone the roots have no ability to break loose and begin growing into the new soil. By that point the plant is so compromised that it will not be able to survive long enough to grow roots that will go into the soil. If the plant is already weakened because of poor care you need to help the roots along. However, if you still have some soil in the pot and the roots are not growing around each other you can put the rootball into the new soil and it will figure it out.
That root ball that has hardly any soil in it needs to be able to access the nutrients of the soil that is now only around them and not in the root ball. Hopefully you understand what I am getting at. There is no hard and fast rule. Just use some common sense and do what you believe the plant needs. Always be gentle.
So I recently changed the soil of my ficus ginseng plant because it was giving yellow leaves. The previous repot I did not detangle, just cut bottom third of the roots. Now it was just compacted in the same shape I had left it with, the soil in the middle had become hydrophobic and I ended up detangling it quite a bit to get rid of it mostly. Hope it survives, please cheer for me.
Fingers crossed 🤞
I totally agree with not touching roots to repot. Plants aren't that dumb lol
Yea no one says "Dumb as a plant." They're quite intelligent. Being dumb is a rock's job.🙃
The potting directly into a bigger pot is something I’ve done for years. It’s perfectly fine to do. Though I do feel guilty sometimes, like my massive bird of paradise I should have given special treatment for… oh well next time
Nah no need it’ll be fine 😁
Thanks for the tip about the moisture meter - I shall be getting one soon.
Nice one 👍
Nice one 👍
Nice one 👍
I use a 5 gallon bucket with water rather than my sink to soak plant roots. Works great
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Excellent videos. Thank you!
My pleasure 😊
I just found your channel the other day and bought that moisture meter, the results were interesting! 😊
In a good way❓😁
@@SheffieldMadePlants Yes! Some plants were dryer than I thought, some wetter. Good to know! 😁
i agree that you dont have to untangle roots even if they go around the pot unless the trunk is going to eventually grow larger that this ring of roots (like with trees) otherwise it just wont hurt your plants .. when you are repotting succulent plants, feel the leaves, if they are thick and hard they are full of water and thats the best time to do it.. if they are soft and marshmallow like then water it and wait a week to transplant it.. its not a good idea to water succulents after you repot them and if you are planting into pots without holes, put some water into a cup or vessel that wont overwhelm your plant and water from there.. if you take it to the sink and turn on the tap or use a watering can you just cant tell how much water is going into the pot so measure out the amount of water you are going to use first
Nice tip thanks big dawg 😁
Giving the plant a bath : Interesting idea to remove the plant from the pot ; however I just drop the plant and pot in tub water with liquid fertilizer and leave it / forget about it; even over night . As long as there is good drainage I have no problems --- even with succulents .
Nice 👌
I recently repoted my monstera using worm castings which I later found out had vine weevil grubs!!!( I think that's where they came from). I can't find a Vidio on this pest. Please would you consider making one? I used this same soil mix to repot about four other plants. My monstera had hardly any roots on taking it out of the pot so maybe this is why the aerial roots had not grown more than an inch. Im surprised it's still alive at all. I did comment on another Vidio though you may not remember as you get so many comments. You said you wondered why the aerial roots had not grown. Maybe the weevil were actually already in the rootball and did not come out of the bag of worm castings as I first thought. Thanks for another great Vidio.xSarah.Devon.
Thanks Sarah. Sounds grim about the weevil! I don't think I've experienced this pest before
Studies on forest trees showed roots that curled from binding never straighten out even after a decade, they just keep curling around and around. For trees, this is a major problem since eventually trees can girdle their own root system and strangle it (pulling up the dead trees is how they found out, then doing an official study). Cutting roots is still a good plan if they're bound in a container. But let's face it, the eventual shape will again be curled so turning back the clock with root trim is only temporary unless the plant has plenty of room NOT in a container.
Roots are sensitive to overwatering because they need oxygen for micro organisms help to finish the nitrogen cycle. Submerged, roots do OK for awhile until the water is exhausted of oxygen, and then root rot starts. Soil needs roughly 30% oxygen for root health, so even a waterlogged pot without drainage holes will be OK provided the pot isn't so deep Oxygen can't diffuse down far enough to reach roots and provide the leafage above is ample enough to evaporate uptake fast enough.
Thanks for the knowledge bombs 😁
I have three plants in pots without drainage holes. They are all dead. If your pot is awkward shaped, you can always get one of those deli containers and heat it up with a hairdryer or a torch and press it into your new pot until it fits inside of it nicely. And then put drainage holes in the bottom of it.
Do you happen to have any orchids? Or did you have any in the past? I want to get one but I’m scared I’ll kill it
Orchids are pretty hardy. Especially phals (the ones you see most often in stores). I have a bunch of phals, oncidiums, and a couple cattleya and they’ve survived so much neglect, I’m amazed at their resiliency. Get one, you probably won’t kill it 🤗
They just need a different way of thinking about them and they'll thrive
untangling th roots seems like an odd concept to me. I was taught to break apart the roots, whether theyre rootbound or not. Like stick your fingers in there and rip the roots apart. The tearing of the roots stimulates new growth in them, and it allows you to easily spread apart the major root systems evenly when putting it into the new pot.
If you want to start putting your plants in pots without drainage holes, start teaching yourself signs of stress on the plants. Its really easy. Stick your finger in the soil up to your 2nd knuckle. If the soil comes back with your finger, the soil is still moist. If your plant tag says let it dry between watering, wait to water. If it says do not let it dry, water it. If the soil is squishy, it probably has too much water no matter the plant. *Almost never water your succulents and cacti, especially in cooler climates - the soil should be DRY before watering.
Over and under watering will show as yellowing (overwatering/not enough sun) or browning (underwatering/too much sun) leaves. Do a quick google search to see if the amount of sun its in is too much or too little (direct sun, indirect sun, some shade/some sun). If it's correct, change your watering from there. If not, simply move the plant to a better location to match the lighting.
If you're a beginner, I know it sounds like a lot. But once you've kept one plant alive, you'll start to notice these things naturally anyway, and they're your number one tool to keeping healthy, happy plants, no matter the pot you plant them in. Happy gardening! ✨
Thanks for the tips Sam
I’ve never untangled root balls and neither has my mom. Most of her plants are at least 20 years old.
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Great info please let me know how long plants can stay in nursery pots
Until they need repotting? Always good to check every spring and repot if rootbound