NINE STEPS TO A SUCCESSFUL TRANSPLANT

I will finish this potting up segment with a top 9 list. I guess I could make it a top 10 by saying 10) ENJOY YOUR PLANTS, but I assume everyone does that already.

1) First, you should water your future transplants with a good transplanting fertilizer high in phosphorus and with vitamin B1 two days before you transplant.

2) Fill your container, or pot, with potting soil or whatever medium you grow in, you will want to makes sure the plant will be at the same height in the new pot. In other words roots should not be exposed and you should not burry excess stem. An acceptation is tomato’s and potato’s which will happily put out new roots if you burry the stem. Most other plants will be susceptible to stem rot if you burry the stem.

3) Saturate the medium you will transplant into with water mixed with transplanting fertilizer. Make sure the soil is completely saturated with your water-fertilizer solution, leaving no pockets of dry soil. If you don’t saturate all the soil you could have pockets of dry soil that future roots won’t be able to use, and therefore you will be wasting space.

4) In the container in which you are going to place your transplant, dig out a hole the approximate size of the container from which your transplant will come. I like to use the starter plugs for germination and cuttings, they make potting up a lot easier.

5) If you have bigger plants in pots you may need to roll the old pot in your hand or on a table to loosen the dirt and roots from the side of the container. (Be careful you don’t damage the plant in the process of loosening the roots!) Next, grasp the base of the plant, turn the container upside down, and pull the root ball out, being careful to keep the roots in one piece. I like to tap on the bottom to help the plant come out of the container.

6) Carefully place the root ball in the hole in your prepared container.

7) Now that the root ball is in place, you can fill in the space around it placing soil gently, but firmly around the top of the roots. No roots should be exposed and you should not burry excess stem. Make sure that all the roots are pointing down. A trick I learned is to put the plant in the hole a bit deep and then after adding some soil pull it up gently by the stem. This will make sure all roots are pointing down. You then pack down and add more medium to keep the plant upright.

8) With your transplant in its new container, water the plant once again, lightly, with your fertilizer solution. Make sure the soil is saturated, but not soggy. Keep the soil well watered, but make sure that the plant has good drainage and is not in standing water

9) Place your new transplants in low light conditions. I think fluorescents are best. If you don’t have any you should raise your HID or LED several feet higher than normal. The transplants should be able to handle full sun or HID light within a day or two.

If your plants outgrow their new containers, simply follow these 9, steps again to transplant to a larger container.

Good Growing
Dr. E.R. Myers