How To Repot House Plants

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Today I’ll explain how to repot house plants the proper way. Or at least the way I’ve always done it.

Take your plant out of the pot. If its roots are wrapped tightly around the plant, then it’s time for repotting. Find a pot not much larger than the one it is currently in.

If the plant doesn’t want to come out of its current pot, tap the sides and try to get the plant out again.

In hot to repot house plants, a woman is repotting her own.

I’m not all that picky about what type of plant container I use. As long as there are proper drainage holes in the bottom, it will work. I’ve used terracotta, plastic, and ceramic pots.

I got potting soil and repotted many of my house plants that needed repotting for various reasons. So I thought I’d tell you the steps I use when repotting plants.

I currently prefer potting my house plants in Fox Farm potting soil. I’ve even ordered this one online. I have used various kinds of potting soil in the past. I like Miracle-Gro potting soil as well.

Instructions For Repotting House Plants:

  1. For pots you’ve used before, fill the sink with hot water and add dishwashing liquid. Put the pots in the water to soak away any remaining bacteria. I use stones or gravel for pot drainage, so I soak those as well.
  2. After soaking, I use a sponge or cloth to scrub away the dirt that wasn’t removed during soaking. Then I rinse the pots and allow them to air dry.
  3. Put the clean stones or gravel in the bottom of the pot for drainage.
  4. Add potting soil. Fill with soil to about the middle of the pot.
  5. Now it’s time to take the plant out of the smaller/original pot. If it’s being stubborn about coming out of the pot, gently tap the side of the pot to shake the soil loose.
  6. If the roots are root-bound, gently separate them with your fingers and then place them in the pot.
  7. Begin adding more potting soil around the plant until the soil is about an inch from the top of the pot.
  8. Then gently tamp down the soil around the plant.
  9. Give your plant a drink of water.
House plants on a table by my couch
house plants

Plant Repotting Tips:

I don’t like to use water fresh from the tap to water my plants. So I use water that has been sitting for at least 24 hours, or I use bottled water.

Potting soil’s superior ability to drain water is the main reason it is used for most indoor plants.

Always use the appropriate potting soil for your plant. What is referred to as potting soil is a mix of different materials. Sphagnum moss, perlite, bark, compost, and vermiculite feed the plant.

Potting soil is filled with all the nutrients a plant needs.

Some of my own house plants I've repotted

Various Kinds Of Potting Soil:

There are different kinds of potting soil.

  • All-purpose potting soil
  • Organic potting soil
  • Seed starting mix
  • Cacti and citrus potting soil
  • Orchid potting soil
  • Moisture control potting soil
  • Outdoor potting mix

After watering, make sure you don’t leave your plant sitting in water that may remain in the plant saucer.

Now your house plant has been given all it needs to spread its roots and grow. House plants purify the air and are an asset to any room in your home.

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I'm Brenda, creator of Cozy Little House. I live with my cats, Ivy, Simon, and Daisy. I graduated from journalism school with a degree in professional writing and won awards for feature writing. I practice gratitude and enjoy my solitude. My interpretation of life is that the glass is always half-full.

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16 Comments

  1. Some of my houseplants need a little TLC – I fed and watered them this weekend but there are a few that need to be repotted. I usually wait until the weather is a little warmer to bring them out to my garden cottage for repotting. Oh, and a coffee filter in the bottom over the hole works to keep the soil in the pot, I do that for my outside plants also!

  2. Thank you!

  3. I repot house plants all the time and use pretty much the same methods as you do, though I try to look for pots that have the drainage hole already. IKEA has these bags of little round balls for pot drainage. They look terra-cotta, but they’re lightweight. They’re inexpensive, too. I bought a couple of bags last summer. A little go a long way.

  4. Ance Mist says:

    The miracle, magical powder that TASTE of FRANCE mentions above is called rooting hormone and my jar is ‘ROOTONE’ by Shultz.
    “Faster, healthier rootings from cuttings, with fungicide for control of seeding diseases – hazards to humans and domestic animals.”
    You just dip your cuttings into the powder in the jar after removing all lower leaves or flowers, making sure at least one node is covered, tap off any excess powder. Plant in a hole in your medium that you made larger than the cutting stem so none of the powder is scraped off while planting, then firm the medium around the cutting and tap down. Keep moist for 3 to 5 weeks or until rooted.
    I have to say it works every time I use it.

    1. Barbara Dobson says:

      Rootone is magical stuff !

    2. I use cinnamon. Much cheaper! Here is an article to read about it…Cinnamon as rooting agent. Cinnamon as a rooting agent is as useful as willow water or hormone rooting powder. A single application to the stem when you plant the cutting will stimulate root growth in almost every plant variety. Give your cuttings a quick start with the help of cinnamon powder.Jan 12, 2018

  5. Your plants look very healthy, where is a good place to buy indoor plants?

    1. I tend to buy from the same nursery where I get my indoor plants. My daughter and I went there Saturday. It is quiet and peaceful, as opposed to big box stores. I buy their potting mix too.

  8. I have a giant cactus that I received from my hubby when our daughter was born. It was thumb size then and now it is about four feet tall and thorny. My daughter is 43 tomorrow, so it has been growing that long. It needs reporting, but I don’t have a clue how to protect myself and it during reporting. Any advice?

      1. Read it and will undertake repotting. May wait until weather is warmer and do it outside. Nervous, feel like I am undertaking surgery on my daughter.Silly notion, but there none-the-less.

  9. For me, this is a timely post! I have several houseplants that need to be re-potted. This coming week, I will head to the garden store for some potting soil. I am going to try your method; your houseplants look beautiful and healthy.

  10. Interesting!
    I don’t do much for cleaning pots or pot shards (and also use the for drainage at the bottom of pots). I figure germs are good germs.
    My grandma had 10 green thumbs. Amazing. HUGE garden that fed several families. A “root cellar,” which was one of the scariest places I’d ever been, under the basement, smelling of onions and potatoes stored for winter. But the safest of safe places, being a hole under a hole, if a tornado came through.
    Anyway, she had some kind of miracle powder she would put on cuttings to make them grow roots. It was truly magical. I still have some, and even though it’s 20 years old now (and has been to three countries) it still works.

    1. I don’t worry much about cleaning pots for outdoor plants.

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