Hooray, it’s March and spring has arrived on the calendar! That’s good enough for me at least for today. Day length is increasing and the solar power of the sun feels wonderful.
So, along with my enthusiasm for the coming season comes the urgency to rejuvenate our indoor plants, as well as the outdoor plants that earned redemption.
Blooming indoor plants like African violets often sort of hibernate during the short days of winter. The short days, in addition to cloudy days, diminish the energy available for the plant to initiate flowering.
Well, that is changing, and the plants readily recognize that, so they are ready for a burst of energy!
Understanding that energy cycle means that now is the time to do the repotting, dividing or trimming back of our indoor plants.
When shifting a plant to a larger pot, do not increase the pot size by more than 1 or 2 inches.
As you remove the root mass from the current pot, if the roots are densely coiled around the soil ball, use a sharp or corrugated knife to cut away those circling roots, set the plant in the new larger pot and fill in with fresh potting mix, making sure the surface of the soil remains the same as it was before.
Depending on how much or the root mass you prune away, you could possibly put the plant back into the same pot. I frequently do this with plants that have been in large pots because there is enough root mass left to support the top growth, and I don’t want to have to lug around a washtub-size pot.
For plants headed back outdoors like geraniums or hibiscus, the root pruning is key to getting success for the coming season. Along with the root pruning comes top pruning.
Generally, cut the top growth back by at least half. Cutting back the top reduces the stress caused by pruning the root mass, and when done together, that plant gets a whole new lease on life.
The reason to do it now is like I said before ... more light, more available energy. People often want to do this in the fall when they bring the plant indoors, but the results are poor because of diminishing light.
If you want to take cuttings of your indoor plants, this is also the very best time to do that. Stem tip cuttings 4 to 6 inches long will root the easiest because that is what we refer to as soft wood. Using a rooting hormone will speed up the process. Keep the cuttings in the same light as the plant was in before so they don’t have to acclimate to a new environment.
Increased growth because of more light might mean the plant will require more water than it needed during the winter. Also, adding plant food to the water will encourage that flush of new growth.
Courage, my friends … plants are amazingly forgiving!