Repotting Shady Ferns and Begonias, and Sunny Succulents

My fern collection loves the filtered light under the oak tree.

After 5 years, these succulent pots need to be repotted.

Draping plants love tall plant stands.

Maranta's striking foliage is offset by baby-blue pot.

Plastic window screening is directly over the drainage hole. The broken pot shard is on top, providing an air gap to keep the potting mix away from direct access to the drainage hole.

Trimming long tendrils and rooting them alongside the mother begonia plant will enable a fuller bloomset.

Newly repotted plants under the oak tree get only a bit of direct sun in the late afternoon.

Tomato tally up to 612. However, 377 of them were Sungold and Chocolate Cherry, and Isis Candy.

Persimmons enlarging.

Third Harmonic alstroemeria continue to bloom. They were the first ones to show color way back in early Spring, and they're still going, although not quite as vigorously.

Conadria fig is full of fruit.

A couple of forgotten beets. The larger one is 5" tall. We'll see whether it's gone completely woody.....

Almost ready Celebrity tomatoes from the first planting in late March.

The champion producer, Sungold. So far, 302 fruits since June 27. It's a good thing they're so yummy!

     It’s just too hot in the garden for me, except for an hour or so after the sun surmounts the back hill so I can work in bright light but no blasting sun.  Then I can spend time harvesting and watering the tomatoes and squash, and the fruit trees once every two weeks.  During the day, I have to find other gardeny things to do.  In the early to mid-morning, when the shade from my oak tree makes my front patio comfortable, I repot up shade-lovers like ferns and begonias and orchids.  At the same time, my extended house roof overhang on the southwest side provides shade for repotting my succulents.
 
When to Repot
     There comes a point, perhaps years after you’ve first brought home a plant and settled it into its new container home and it’s thrived, when it doesn’t look so happy and you’ve observed that perhaps not much of the original potting mix remains in the pot. 
     Or, you may have collected so many small pots of plants that you never got around to settling them into their new homes, and they’re beginning to look neglected.
     In my case, these conditions move me into thinking “I’ve got to get them repotted” but then the activity doesn’t happen.  Until it’s too hot for me to find the excuse to do something in the garden.  Like now.
 
Choosing a Container:  Material, Color and Pattern, Size
     Clay (glazed or not?) or plastic?  I prefer unglazed terra cotta, either glazed or not, because I know the pot will “breathe” and foster a healthy root system.  I always use the same potting mix so all plantings will dry out at the same rate and I don’t have to guess so much who needs watering when.
     I try to aesthetically match the plant to the pot’s color, glaze and pattern – taking into consideration the particular shade of green, form and texture of the foliage, and any bloom color.
     I choose larger size pots according to how quickly the plant will develop.  Deeper is better than wider to accommodate enlarging root systems and lessen evaporation from the soil surface.  At minimum, the pot should be at least 3 or 4 inches wider and deeper than the plant’s rootball.
 
Covering the Drainage Hole
     Keeping the potting mix inside the pot while allowing irrigation water to drain can be accomplished using two separate materials.  Plastic window screening cut into 3-inch squares will do both functions.  Also placing a piece of broken pottery shard pointing down on top of the screening will form a bit of an air gap on top of the screening that will keep the bulk of the potting soil in place above it and also augment the draining of irrigation water.
     Never fill the bottom of the pot with more pottery shards or packing “peanuts” or anything else because this lessens the amount of potting mix for roots to develop.  Why create a smaller pot and disadvantage the plant?
 
 Potting “Mix” or Potting “Soil”?
     For containers, soilless potting “mix” is what you want to use.  Potting “soil” has actual “dirt” in it, which makes it too dense for containers since it won’t drain properly and roots will literally drown.
     But “mix” and “soil” as marketing terms on packages continue to be confusingly interchangeable, so read the package's description and experiment with several until you find the ones your plants seem to prefer, especially with your particular irrigating habits.  
     I used to like SuperSoil, but over the last several years, the texture has changed to be too similar to shredded bark more suitable as mulch.
     Three brands I prefer now are E.B. Stone Organics, Dr. Earth, and LGM All Purpose Potting Soil.
 
Transplanting Into Containers

• Place several inches of potting mix on top of the screening and pot chard covering the drainage hole.
• Water the plant in its container to make sure that the rootball is fully hydrated.
• Holding the plant upside down and supporting the stem at the soil level with one hand, knock the plant out of the pot.
• Holding the plant upright suspended in the container, massage the rootball with both hands to release most of the plant’s original potting mix into the container until you see many of the roots on the rootball. 
• With one hand holding the plant, use the other hand to mix the plant’s original potting mix with the new potting mix, and begin to spread the combination up the sides of the container. 
• Holding the plant so the soil surface where the stem emerges about an inch below the top rim of the pot, fill in handfuls of the new potting mix around the rootball.
• With individual fingertips, press the potting mix down, still holding the plant the inch below the top rim.
• Continue adding new potting mix until the plant is fully supported and the potting mix combination is somewhat compressed by your fingertips.
• Water the container 3 times immediately, filling to the top rim of the pot.  The first time, the water will drain quickly as it fills all the air pores between the potting mix particles.  The second time will drain more slowly.  The third time will make sure that all of the potting mix is moist and the roots are in good connection to the potting soil particles.
• Place the newly-planted-and-watered container into a filtered-bright-light area – with no direct sun – for at least a week and preferably 2 weeks during this hot weather.  
• Water once including the foliage every third day in the morning so that the foliage dries by sunset.
• After a couple of weeks -- once the plant’s foliage is completely perked up and obviously growing nicely – you can be assured that the plant is established well enough to move to its final location.

For August tasks, see August.
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