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Many gardening enthusiasts have wondered why some of their plants, after repotting, tend to wilt away, shrivel and dry up, or even drop dead after undergoing a repotting exercise.

For plants, including other living things, to live or die is a natural process but the feeling is heavy when seeing negative results especially after a period of good maintenance and tender care.

This is a phenomenon in gardening that is known as repotting hazard.  Although seemingly easy and not a disastrous issue, it nevertheless is a fairly common occurrence especially if the task is done carelessly, recklessly or half-heartedly which may result in heavy hearts and long, gloomy and sad faces.

So what is repotting?  

As repotting constitutes a part of gardening chore, it is a task in gardening that requires the transfer of an existing potted plant and repotting it into another one which is usually larger than the original pot without disturbing or breaking the rootball.

It is usually carried out in home gardens, plant nurseries, institutional gardens or nurseries that are owned and run by private or government organizations that contribute to the greening of mainly their own areas as well as sites that are further away.

The question therefore arises as to why there is a need to repot plants that are already well-established in pots or some other kinds of containers, and what the big deal is all about.  There are multiple reasons for that. 

Why need repotting 

Firstly, it is necessary to repot plants that are too crowded or too congested in the pot which is most likely the same pot into which the plant was first set in years ago.  

In such instances, the pot may be so filled up with roots and shoots that it is not unusual to see the sides of pots splitting open due to the pressure.  

This is very likely to occur when the smaller plastic pots are used to grow the plant.

Secondly, when plants are kept for decades in the same pot, there is a tendency for reduced vibrancy in growth which may result in diebacks and subsequently leaving behind a scrawny plant with several dead shoots and stumps.  

Such a plant is therefore not a pretty sight to behold and therefore needs to be repotted to stay useful and attractive. 

Thirdly, repotting serves to redress the unbalanced distribution of greens in the pot. This often happens when new growths are often seen to be more profuse on one side of the clump thus leaving the other side more sparse.

The result is a plant that does not appear to be well-centred in the pot, thereby reducing its aesthetic value by quite a few points.

Fourthly, as repotting usually involves changing into a slightly larger pot, this means it is possible for the plant to grow into a larger and thicker clump.  

Many types of palms, such as red palm and areca palm, fall into this category.  After being repotted into a larger pot, the potential is there for such palms to grow and develop into even more beautiful specimens for display at functions or simply to beautify the indoors and outdoors.

Fifthly, sometimes potted plants may be left untended for ages for one reason or another with the result that the entire contraption becomes so thickly infested with weeds that it becomes impossible to distinguish ornamentals from weeds.  

This is the time when it is absolutely necessary to repot with the aim of separating the weeds from whatever valuable plant that is left.

There are other reasons for repotting but these are best left to the plant lovers and gardeners who are aplenty locally.

100pc successful repotting technique

There are many ways to carry out repotting.  The difference is in the degree of success that can be attained from the various methods used.

Without doubt, the most common method of repotting is simply to pull up the plant from the pot, irrespective of whether it is a clump or single-stemmed specimen.  This method, although requiring mostly brawn but little brain, is plainly messy with a very high casualty rate.  

This is more so when dealing with succulents which may not be able to withstand such a harsh treatment.

Another method is to lightly loosen the soil at the base of the plant with a piece of spike or trowel but this is likely to disturb a large portion of the rootball surrounding the plant.  This process is also messy and the result is always 50-50.

However, despite all these shortcomings, there is a method of repotting that always result in 100.00% success.  This technique involves the use of a simple kitchen tool that is associated with the lady of the house, and that is the spatula that is used in cake-making.

As the spatula is flat, flexible and made of stainless steel, it is perfect for use as a tool to separate the rootball from the wall of the pot.  This technique works wonders as it does not break up the rootball in the process of separating it neatly from the wall of the pot.

The next step is to grab the base of the plant with your left hand, raise the pot and turn it upside down.  Then use your trowel to lightly knock at the rim of the pot with the aim of separating the rootball from the pot.  

When this is done, simply lift up the pot, and lo!  And behold!  The rootball becomes visible and without a split.

The entire rootball is then placed into the larger pot that already has some soil filled into the bottom.  After centering the position of the plant, the sides are then filled up with more soil and then lightly compacted.  See, the job is done successfully.

Time now to take a well-earned break – coffee and snacks, or a siesta.