houseplant repotting?

Question

I recently bought a peace lily. I have it in bright(ish), indirect sunlight and I'm attempting to keep the soil moist. However, I just looked and found out that the pot the plant is in has no holes on the bottom. My question is... Should I repot this plant into another, same-sized pot with holes on the bottom? Can I simply poke holes in the bottom of this pot and get away with it? I don't want to traumatize the plant by repotting if I don't need to, but I don't want it to rot, either. Help!

Answer 1

Repotting is pretty easy.

Tip the current pot over on its side and pull out the plant. If the soil around the rootball crumbles and is loose, you can repot
in the same size pot. If it comes out as a solid mass with entwined roots, you either need to trim the root ball down or repot in a larger pot. Up to about a 6" diameter pot, I try not to jump
more than 2" in diameter at a time. Above that, I'll jump 4 to 6 inches at a time.

Find a pot with drainage holes of the right size. If you're using a new, unglazed clay pot, soak the pot in water with a drop of shampoo added to it for an hour -- this rehydrates the clay and keeps it from stealing water from the roots.

If the plant is not rootbound, add a little soil to the bottom of the pot, crumble the soil away from the roots, and then repot in the new pot. Water well to settle the soil, and then make sure you dump any excess water sitting in the saucer.

If the plant is rootbound, you need to either trim the rootball (a breadknife works well... just saw off the bottom inch of the rootball and do your best to untangle the roots from the sides,
or trim half an inch or so of the sides of the rootball also) or you need to untangle at least the outside roots of the rootball.
Repot in the same size pot (trimmed rootball) or larger pot (untangled). Water well, and again, don't forget to dump the water in the saucer.

Answer 2

Keep the soil moist but let the top dry to about two inches down or more before watering again. I don't think the roots will rot as this is a plant that wants moisture to keep from killing the lower leaves. If you are worried though, you could just let it dry a little more than you are doing now and water on a schedual. You may have the occasional yellow leaf and some pruning to do but it won't cause signifigant damage. I say, no need for the holes or repotting. Good luck.

Answer 3

You should re-pot the peace lilly (Spathiphyllum) in a container slightly larger than the one you have now. Make sure the pot has holes for drainage. The roots from most houseplants will get what is called root rot if there is no drainage.

You can poke holes in the current pot but eventually you have will to go to a larger pot anyway...might as well do it now.

The peace lilly actually like low light....Perfect for that dark corner. It also likes to be well watered do NOT let it dry out.

Answer 4

Definitely make holes in the pot otherwise the roots will rot, plant will die. Or transplant to a pot with holes. Peace Lillies aren't as delicate as some think, they can take repotting with little stress.

Answer 5

What kind of pot? You could try to poke holes in the bottom. Or wait for a month or so and re-pot, by that time the plant should be over any climate shock.

Answer 6

pick a greater pot, yet no longer too plenty greater; circulate with 2 to 4 inches greater, or maybe 6 if the plant is incredibly overgrown the pot. enable the plant dry out for quite a few days, till the airborne dirt and mud is compacted and not soggy or moist. practice the recent pot by using protecting the backside with potting soil, adequate to equivalent out the top distinction between the previous and new pot. try to be able to hold close the plant and gently pull from the previous pot. If there are multiple roots exhibiting on the backside and aspects of the plant, gently loosen them with a finger or a popsicle stick. place into the recent pot on good of the potting soil, and it is going to be on the final top so the airborne dirt and mud point is a few million inch from the best of the recent pot. If no longer, get rid of plant and upload airborne dirt and mud to hold it to that time. as quickly as your plant is in the pot and on the final point, you are able to fill in the aspects slowly. do no longer attempt to compact the airborne dirt and mud or press it down too plenty. upload water, and verify in some days to be sure if extra airborne dirt and mud is mandatory around the sides.

Answer 7

I would carefully tip the pot and try not to disturb the roots too much, then add an inch or two of gravel for drainage. They don't need to be constantly wet, just water once every week or two.