what size pot is appropriate for a 8-12 inch plants whole lifetime?

Question

i have 4 plants i only want to transplant once so i was wondering.

Answer 1

depends on what the plant is. A cactus may never need to be repotted, a fast growing plant will, in spite of what you want. If a plant becomes pot bound with roots that completely replace the soil, which can happen over a period of a years, it may die or gradually not do very well.

A plant should be repotted about once a year, preferably in the spring, depending on how fast it grows.

If you are growing a bonsai, that is an entirely different thing, and you should root prune it rather than repot it often.

For a plant that size, an 8"-10" pot should do it for a while, but it will still need to be repotted in a year or two.

If you put a plant in a pot that is too big, quite often it will rot because the soil is kept too moist for the size of the plant and it can't use up all the water in the soil. If it is a water loving plant, like a pothos, it will quickly grow to the size of the pot, and you will still have to repot it.

If you want to keep it at a certain size and never pot it up to a bigger pot, you can tip it out of the pot and root prune it, and put in some fresh soil back in the same pot, or divide it and repot a portion of it.

A plant is a living, growing thing, and to confine it to a pot that is too small for it is like keeping a person in a 7yr/ olds clothes all of his life. It just doesn't work without some drastic surgery.

Remember., some plants can live a very long time. I have some house plants that are more than 20 years old.

Answer 2

Agree with Isa, depends on the type of plant and its growth habit.

As a plant becomes rootbound - you can see the roots growing out of the drain holes - it should be repotted to a larger container. Some grow faster than others, so without knowing what exactly you have, can't give a definitive answer.

Answer 3

its very beneficial to a plant to be re-potted every year, even if it doesn't look like it needs it.

By re-potting every year you can check the roots to see if they are root bound and healthy. If root bound it needs to be replanted in a pot 1 /2 inch larger than before.

Check the roots to see if they are healthy and fresh looking. If you see mold they are getting too much water and will get diseased sooner or later. If you notice mold: air dry the plant and remove the mold gently by scrapping it off. I usually have a few Terra-cotta pieces or pebbles in the bottom of a pot to insure good drainage.

Plants like clean pots so this is the main reason I re-pot them ever year. Denise http://thegardenersrake.com