When to transplant outdoor plants?

Do you like to repot your plants? I love this because it gives them the opportunity to continue growing without difficulties for a while longer. But, in addition to that, I really enjoy being in contact with the soil, although I confess that afterwards I am so lazy to clean my nails that I end up cutting them. Precisely to avoid this, it is rare that I do not wear gloves, no matter how uncomfortable they are for me to wear.

If you have a patio, a garden and/or a balcony where you have some flower pots, It is very important and necessary that you ask yourself when to transplant outdoor plants., based on my experience, many people who decorate these spaces with flowers and/or any other type of plants tend to forget to change their pots. They think they can stay in the aforementioned pots forever, which is not the case at all.

Why should you transplant outdoor plants?

Although I have already mentioned at the beginning why plants should be planted in larger pots, I am going to delve a little deeper into this because I think it is important. Well, plants grow thanks to their roots. Its root system is responsible for absorbing the water and nutrients it finds in the soil., and this is something they do from the first minute of the transplant.

As time passes, the earth is running out of the organic matter it contained at the beginning.; and if we do nothing to change it, it can become infertile soil, that is, soil that has run out of 'food' for the roots. In fact, I have seen a plant that, when removed from the pot, its root ball was just that: roots. There was hardly a trace of the soil that was put in it at the time.

Going to that extreme is, in my opinion, a very serious mistake, because it forces the plant to survive, not to live, and for that reason alone it is more than likely that it will end up having difficulties producing flowers, or even developing.

You may think I'm exaggerating a bit, but You will easily see this for yourself if you plant any plant (recommends a fast growing one, like the sunflower for example) in a pot about ten centimeters in diameter or lessYou will see that, even though you know that the plant can grow over a metre in height, due to lack of space and nutrients it remains much smaller.

Of course, You can have your outdoor plants in the same pots for a long period of time if you want to control their growth a bit.. This is something that is done with those that are worked as bonsai, or even with those that, for different reasons, can only be kept in pots. Regarding the latter, I have to tell you that I myself have several trees in large pots because it is impossible for me to plant them in the ground, like a magnolia grandiflora or AcerBut in these situations, fertilization becomes even more important, since we do not want the soil to be left without nutrients, as this could negatively affect the plants.

When should outdoor plants be transplanted?

To know if it is time to plant our outdoor plants in larger pots We need to look at their roots, and more specifically, whether they have begun to come out through the drainage holes in the containers.This is a trick that is often useful in many cases, since when you can see roots coming out of the pot, it is because the plant is running out of space to continue growing.

Now, There are certain cases where this trick will not help us at all.For example, if the soil is usually dry for a long time, the roots will take a long time to emerge. For example, It is quite common to find ourselves in this situation with cacti and succulents., that is, with succulents. As they are plants that do not have to be watered too often, the roots stay well 'tight', close to each other, and do not venture out through the holes in the container when there is no water.

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When to transplant cacti?

Therefore, What I recommend doing is laying the pot on a clean, dry surface: with one hand you hold the pot, and with the other you pull the plant outwards., just a little. If you see that the root ball comes out whole, without crumbling, then you can transplant it; otherwise, it is best to leave it where it is for a while longer.

And, at what time of year can outdoor plants be transplanted? Well, although it depends a little on the origin of each plant and the climate in our area, It is generally recommended to do it during the spring.But, as I say, there are cases and cases. So I'm going to tell you when I do it so that you know more or less when to do it.

The climate in my area is typically Mediterranean, with mild winters (in fact, temperatures rarely drop below 0ºC, although they can reach -1ºC), and very hot summers that start early and usually end late. So, outdoor plants of tropical origin, such as ficus or many palm trees that I have, I repot in mid-spring, when temperatures are around 5ºC; on the other hand, those that tolerate the cold without problems, such as lavender, camellia or maples for example, I repot in February/March.

But What I never do and I don't recommend you do either, is to transplant them in the summer., unless it is strictly necessary (for example, if there is a suspicion that the roots have scale insects or some other pest). During the fall it can be done, but only if it is not cold; that is, if there are frosts in October or so, it should not be done. And of course, In winter they will be kept in their pots Otherwise, they could be greatly weakened by low temperatures.

Hope it has fit.