….and usually between a crock and a plastic pot; we analyze the advantages and disadvantages in both cases. The crock pot. It is a vase that costs more than plastic, for the same volume, but looks nicer. In this article we will explain how to transplant a succulent, because even the succulent plants need care and attention. When we buy or receive a succulent plant, it is usually in a small plastic pot and should be subsequently transferred into a land or in a vase as much as possible suitable, which allows good growth. It is clearly explained in the following paragraphs how to transplant a succulent: this operation is very important because with the repotting in a larger vase your succulent plant will grow better, reinforcing its root system

1 – Choose the right soil

First of all, we must keep in mind that the soil should be draining and so we will have to add substances that allow this feature. Substances , such as sand with big grains or pozzolan, create spaces that facilitate water drainage. So, in general, we can say that a succulent plant can adapt well to a soil composed by large- grained sand, by pozzolan (or pumice) and ground. The plants of desert origin need more ground

2 – Choose the vase

The choice of the vase, that we will use then to repot, has to be done with care, according to the needs of the plant: it is normal that the plastic pot, in which we buy the succulent at the nurseries, after a while , does not go well. Therefore, to ensure proper growth of your succulent plant, we must procure a new vase that is not too large because otherwise it would disperse the nutrients that are present. The choice of the vase. The crock pot is much more delicate than a plastic one. Generally it is round shape and therefore bigger. The fundamental characteristic of a crock pot is that it is breathable: this means that moisture will disperse quickly and that, consequently, the soil will dry more quickly. It is the porosity of the clay that produces transpiration. Also, keep in mind that, during the repotting, you will have more difficulty to pull off a plant from a crock pot, because the roots expand and tend “ to stick” to the porosity of the clay. To facilitate the operation, you can insert a finger into the lower hole to move a bit the soil. And yet, the pot is a poor conductor and thus will not certainly facilitate the passage of the heat from outside towards the inside.

Finally, the crock pots are not sterilizable with chemicals because otherwise they will be impregnated by these substances, through the pores, and then they will release such products in the ground. The plastic pot. In general we can say that this vase is much more practical than a crock pot. For example, during the repotting, you can gently press on the walls to facilitate the exit of the plant which is not possible with the crock pot, the latter is more rigid. It is always possible to sterilize it and then wash it. But there are also the cons as for example the fact that the plastic vase transmits the heat inside, either to the soil and to the roots of the plant. Then, because it is nor breathable, the water remains for sure, with a potential risk of root rot or fungal and / or parasites. Therefore, if your succulent plant is located in a plastic jar, you need to reduce the watering

3 – Make the repotting

A little preamble: first the peat, the soil consisting in plant remains in which the succulent are grown at the nurseries must be completely removed, at the cost to take off some roots. A good technique would be to wash the roots completely and then let dry the plant for at least a week. Now we can proceed: we put the right soil to our plant to re-pot and we place it into the jar, without pressing. Then we are going to remove the plant from the old pot after having wrapped it in some newspaper because we know that many succulents are full of thorns. Carefully overturn the vase, hold the plant, and begin to pull it out. Before repot, to allow the healing of roots, eventually during the removal of the peat or of the old soil, it is appropriate to leave the plant in a dry place for a certain period of time, quantifiable in 7 days for succulent plants and in 1 -2 weeks for cacti. At this point, take the plant and place it in the new pot, adding more soil, always without pressing it. After a few days the soil will come down, and it will compact, then you can proceed to an addition. Before wetting the soil, always gradually, you should wait a few days

WHEN YOU MAKE THE TRANSPLANT – The best time is towards the end of the vegetative stage, and then between the beginning of spring and the summer. It is not necessary to re-pot too frequently the succulent plants because their growth is very slow.

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