Bad time to repot?

[mmlr38]

I purchased a few VFTs a couple of weeks ago and they were potted in their typical 2 inch pots that seemingly all VFTs come shipped in in the stores.

I immediately put them in a saucer with a couple mm of distilled water and set them in the sun. Some of the leaves got a little sunburned because I didn't properly harden them to the sun, but most of them did pretty well and now all the plants are showing new leaf growth.

Along with this new leaf growth it seems that the roots are growing as well. I now see roots growing out the bottom of most of the 2 inch pots and just resting in the water in the saucer.

My question is this: Would it be a bad idea to repot the plants right now? I am a little worried about leaving the roots exposed like they are as fall approaches and the temperatures here start cooling off. I bought a few large pots that will accommodate the roots better. Also, I would think that having a larger pot for the VFTs would help prevent the temperature of the soil from fluctuating as much and therefore provide a more stable environment for them.

Any suggestions? Should I wait to repot until it starts cooling off more or the plants go into dormancy? Or would it be ok to transplant them now? If I do repot them now, should I try to keep the original "ball" of peat around the roots and just set it down in the new pot?

Thanks for any feedback.

 

[Not a Number]

If it worries you much:

1) Double pot - just "plant" the existing pot into a larger pot with peat or peat mix. No root disturbance at all. Repot end of winter.

2) Drench the existing pot, let it drain well (no tray) for at least an hour. Gently squeeze the sides of the pot to loosen the soil from the pot walls, use a pencil or blunt stick to push out the entire pot contents from the drain holes. Leave the entire mass intact and plant into a larger pot of peat or peat mix. Minimal root disturbance depending on how careful you are. Repot or just leave it as is end of winter.

3) Wait until the plants are dormant and repot before the onset of winter proper.

 

[mmlr38]

Thanks for the very helpful reply Not a Number.

Which of these options do you think will be most beneficial for the plants? Before posting, I was thinking about doing option 2. I was glad to see that you was one of the options you listed.

 

[adnedarn]

Honestly, I repot plants every day. I see little decline, if any, for only a few days before they jump back from growth. And I rinse all the media off when I repot them.

So, that said. I would go with option 2 or a revision of 2/3 above for someone newer to CPs.... Instead of completely waiting to transplant, I would pop the plant out into my hand, (kinda like step 2) then set it right back into the pot. That will pull the roots back in. I do that all year long with Sarracenia.
Good luck and
Andrew

 

[jimscott]

What I do is prepare a new pot, with a depression to accommodate the "plug" and coax out the entire contents of the pot, as one unit. Then I put in the new pot and water to fill in the gaps. No root disturbance that way.

 

[mmlr38]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I am going to repot a few of them and give them a few days to see how they do. If they do well, then I will repot the rest.

I am going to rinse off all of the media from the roots and start fresh to eliminate any minerals that have built up.

Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[jm82792]

I have gotten vfts in the past bareroot give them a load of sun,the right media and and they will do fine

 

[mmlr38]

Well, I repotted three plants last night. It was stressful (for me), but I think that they will be fine. Nearly all of their traps closed when I was trying to take them out of the pots and then replant them. I know that stresses the plant out even more...hopefully it's not too much for them.

 

[Alexis]

Could you not have cut the pot down the side with some nail scissors, remove it and then place the block into a bigger pot?

 

[mmlr38]

Yeah, I could have, but I wanted to start with fresh media.

 

[mmlr38]

So it has been a week and a half or so since I repotted my Dionaea. They are doing excellent. It doesn't seem like the repotting set them back at all. In fact, they all seem to be growing much better than they were before the repotting.

I took some pics. Notice the new growth on the couple of plants here. Nearly all of the plants have tons of new leaves coming out or nearing maturity since the transplant.

You can see that some of the leaves look yellowish. That is because I didn't acclimate the plants to the sun, but rather just stuck them out in it. It burned some of the leaves, but all of the new leaves coming out are very green and healthy looking.

 

[jimscott]

See.... it can safely be done! The dying leaves are the older ones. I would recommend snipping them. If the new traps are smaller at first, the plants noticed the change. But stability over time will restore their size.

 

[neon-eon]

Looks like they're doing well! The first time I repottd a VFT, I was scared to death that something would go horribly wrong...I guess after a while you just gain confidence in repotting plants. I worked at a nursery over the summer, and removed and potted hundreds, possibly thousands of small shrubs... I've repotted about twelve VFT's so far, and haven't lost any(at least for that reason.) The only annoying thing is that you often set off a couple traps in the process, but other than that, don't be afraid to really dig in there! Sorry for the late comment lol, but I haven't been to TF in a while, and just felt the need to chime in

-Gabe