Succulents have thick leaves and stems that serve as the plants’ water-retentive bodies. There may be both flowering and non-flowering succulents, and you can have succulents that thrive in pots and containers.
Since they typically grow slowly, most succulent growers won’t need to repot plants very often. However, you may need to repot your plants if they outgrow their pots. With an arrangement, this could happen more frequently than a single plant.
Also, you may have just purchased them, and they are in black plastic containers from the nursery. Repotting the succulents will ensure that your plants grow vigorously and healthily. However, be careful not to traumatize the plants once you’ve repotted them.
Similarly, succulent arrangements comprise a variety of succulents, and you may ask, can you repot succulents in a succulent arrangement? You can transplant succulents in an arrangement to a bigger pot, but there are some factors to consider.
If your succulent arrangement includes succulents from different varieties, you must first choose succulents from that variety before reporting the entire arrangement. In addition, it needs proper drainage, and although you have several succulents, it shouldn’t have too much space.
In our guide, you can learn all you need about repotting succulent arrangements. By the end, you’ll know how to protect the fleshy leaves and how to successfully repot succulents for vigorous root growth once the roots begin to take hold. (Read Spider Mites On Jade Plant)
Why Do You Need To Repot Multiple Succulents?
Once you buy succulents from the store, you’ll need to repot all the plants into a fresh soil mix, as the soil they have been grown in at the nursery may not lack essential nutrients. It allows you to check for pests, root rot, or anything else they could suffer from.
Further, you can repot them in a new container. It will also allow you to survey the plants, identifying root rot or pest attacks. If succulents grow, you’ll need to repot succulents so they have room to spread, or they can end up root bound.
Also, depending on the current pot of container, your succulent could be too large, and it falls over. If you have crowded succulents, you can’t stimulate new growth.
Once your plants are in larger pots and you have removed any dead leaves, they will grow faster as they have more soil full of nutrients compared to their old pot. Growing plants in small pots slow their growth, so repotting succulents that have stunted growth gives them a chance to thrive.
Numerous root-bound succulents in the same container will start fighting for water and nutrients. Larger ones will survive, and smaller ones will die.
How To Repot Succulents Together
You should think about repotting your plant if you notice most succulent roots are coming out of the drainage holes or the pots. (Learn How To Keep Aloe Vera Alive)
Here’s how to repot a succulent arrangement to a larger container.
What you need:
- Pot
- Cactus soil
- Potting soil
- Perlite
- Sand
- Spoon or trowel
Directions
- First, you could mix your soil by combining potting soil, coarse sand, or perlite in proportionate amounts.
- As an alternative, use a soil mix for succulents or cacti.
- Add your fresh soil potting mix to the pot.
- Choose a shallow pot with a diameter of 2 inches larger than your succulent arrangement. Pots or containers need at least one suitable drainage hole.
- The succulent soil mix should then be watered to maintain water and ensure any excess water drains through the draining hole. Finally, add coffee filters or other materials to the bottom of the pot to stop the soil from falling out.
- Next, take the trowel or large spoon and scoop the succulents using the tip. Do it in a way that lifts the root system while being careful not to damage the plant’s root systems.
- Another way is to hold the plant sideways in the old pot. Then, hold it toward the bottom of the plant and tap the bottom of the container.
- Now, you can move it to the hole in the new pot so the succulents aren’t crowded.
- Ensure you make a hole in the new soil for the plant’s roots to sit at the same depth as the root ball.
- For about a week, stop watering the new plants to give them time to adjust to their new growing environment.
- Then, to make the soil moist, you could sprinkle water on it. However, remember should be avoided because it may have adverse effects like root rot.
- The plant’s growth would benefit from a light early spring feeding with diluted fertilizer.
Note: Some coffee filters can stop water flowing after a while, and water accumulates in your pot. (Learn Why Is My Aloe Plant Turning Brown)
After Potting Care
Now you see how to replant succulents. The crucial time is now, as the roots need to take hold, and your plant needs to get over transplant shock.
- If they thrive, keep exposing your Aloe Vera to indirect sunlight. If they lack sunlight, you can adjust them to grow well.
- If you think they need more humidity, grouping the succulents using a humidity tray will help increase the humidity.
- Using a thermometer, monitor the succulent arrangement’s temperature.
- A few weeks of feeding could cause the plants to wilt.
- Repotting may shock plants and adding nutrients could harm them. If their soil is dry, water them.
FAQs
How to replant succulents together?
Before repotting succulents, consider several factors. First, before planting, check the plant’s dormancy period.
- When repotting succulents, they should be dormant.
- Check plants’ watering needs, too. To elaborate, succulents with thick leaves have different water needs than those with thin leaves.
- You could do that while directly watering them without spilling them on other plants. Use a syringe or water bottle.
- Check the current pot to the new pot size, as it can affect the watering schedule of your succulent group.
- Ensure the new soil is quick-draining and the pot has a good drainage hole for repotting succulents.
Do you water succulents before repotting?
- Before repotting succulents, water them for a few days.
- When you water the plants a few days before, they will be hydrated because the cactus soil mix must be moist.
- Plant succulents together or separately?
- Plant succulents singly or in a plant arrangement. They’ll grow healthy in a larger pot; however you plant the beautiful succulents.
- When you plant succulents together, they grow slower to keep their shape.
- If they’re grown together into a succulent arrangement, watering will be difficult as the root system of your succulent plants will be tangled with roots growing from the others.
- If you’re propagating buds and seeds, use tweezers to help plant carefully.
Warnings of When You Transplant Succulents
- Never repot a flowering succulent. Repotting may stop the succulent flower from blooming.
- Don’t soak the plant in water for too long or water it right after the repotting process into a new pot. Too much water causes root rot in succulents.
When to Repot Succulents
Weak or drooping leaves, root systems growing through drainage holes in the bottom of pots, or plants spilling over the edges of their containers are all indications that it’s time to repot succulents.
Some succulent succulents can develop leggy growth. This problem occurs when a succulent does not receive enough natural light, causing the branches or leaves to spread out from the main stem in search of nutrients.
Before attempting to pot a new or transplanted specimen, be sure to choose an ideal location to avoid having to repot succulents. It’s possible that some succulents were initially planted in the wrong soil or pots without drainage.
Home gardeners can repot succulents to arrange if they want to combine several plants. Knowing when to avoid drastic changes that could harm the plants permanently and when they need a new environment to be healthy are both important parts of taking care of succulents properly. (Learn How To Protect Grass Seedlings From Frost)
How to Repot Succulent Leaves
A succulent leaf can be repotted to form a new plant. Whole leaves and some stems should be picked. If a leaf fragment is left on the stem, it won’t sprout new roots. The process is simple but time-consuming.
- Dry the dropped or picked leaf until calloused. Calloused leaves are dry, blotchy, and cracked.
- Whole, brittle leaves are ideal. Most succulent leaves take three days to dry enough to propagate a new plant.
- If the leaf isn’t allowed to dry and callous, it will drown during its first watering. Prepare the new pot’s soil.
- A shallow container with sandy soil works well. Leaf on soil. Popsicle sticks may be needed.
- Keep the pot warm, dry, and out of direct sunlight. The leaf will grow roots after several weeks.
- Water the new plant, letting the soil dry out between each watering. Once the succulent’s roots are established, move the pot to a well-lit, warm spot.
- Established succulents only need once-a-week watering.
- “Hens and chicks” succulent plants illustrate this process. The central mother plant, or “hen,” is surrounded by smaller offshoot plants or “chicks.”
- Many “chicks” begin as dropped leaves from the central plant that develop roots and flourish. Unique patterns, colors, and natural arrangement make “hens and chicks” popular as potted plants.
How to Repot Succulent Cuttings
To repot succulents, use cuttings from an established plant. Some succulents, like aeoniums, won’t produce a new succulent plant from leaves alone, so cuttings are needed.
- Cut a small section of the succulent plant with a knife, scissors, or shears.
- The cutting should be mostly new growth from the rosette’s top and include leaves and stems.
- Dry succulent plant cuttings in a warm, out-of-the-sun, well-ventilated area. Before planting, allow the cut area to heal in the air. Dry the cuts overnight before continuing.
- Repotting succulent cuttings is like repotting succulent leaves.
- New pot soil. A shallow container with sandy soil works well. Top the soil with the succulent cutting. Popsicle sticks may be needed. Keep the pot warm, dry, and out of direct sunlight.
- The succulent cutting will form roots after several weeks. Water the new plant, letting the soil dry out between each watering as too much moisture will cause root rot.
- Once the succulent’s roots are established, move the pot to a well-lit, warm spot. Established succulents only need once-a-week watering.