Repotting succulents

in #succulents5 years ago

I went past a flea market today and bought some cheap second-hand ceramic pots. Most people insist on keeping succulents in unglazed ceramic pots but in my climate they often dry out too quickly, keeping plants in a perpetually thirsty state. Unglazed terracotta is better for humid areas but I like glazed ceramic because it keeps the roots cooler than plastic pots and looks better, too. People like growing succulents in old teapots and whatnot but these shapes with narrow openings become problematic to repot plants so although it looks nice, I prefer pot-shaped objects.

ceramic pots.jpg

The problem with these pots is that they have no drainage holes and that is lethal to any succulents grown outside because any extended rainy period will make the soil totally waterlogged and succulents always need good drainage. Never fear, an ordinary masonry drill bit to the rescue:

drillbit.jpg

I put the drill on hammer setting, otherwise the drillbit doesn't "bite" on glazed ceramic. This will not damage the pot and it takes a little while to drill through but now I have 2 useable pots

holes.jpg

The first candidate for repotting is the sedum that had been attacked by scale insects and as you can see, it's totally pot bound and water-stress makes plants vulnerable to pests.

roots.jpg

Depending on the climate, potting mixes can be more or less gritty, I use a mix of soil and Cacti and Succulent mix for the organic component. C & S potting mix is better than straight potting soil, because it is low in Nitrogen and high in trace elements.

The end result:

repotted.jpg

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