For many of us buying a houseplant is an easy way of bringing the outdoors inside, and allows us to enjoy flowers and foliage at a time when the garden is buried under winter snow or struggling to keep going during the annual summer hosepipe ban. While most will survive sitting on a warm windowsill with an occasional watering, the majority of houseplants tend to be forgotten about, and it is only when we notice the drooping flowers or wilted leaves that we remember they require our attention occasionally.
For the less green fingered amongst us, this is usually the time to panic, leaving us to wonder if it is better to just throw the plant away and buy a new one. However, stunted growth, wilting leaves and poor flowers could just be signs your plant has become too big for its pot, and rather than dying off it is just in need of repotting. Check the bottom of the pot and you will be able to see if roots are poking through the hole in the base. Alternatively, if roots are visible on the surface of the soil or there are more roots than soil when you gently remove the plant from its pot then it is definitely time for repotting.
If possible, try and report your plants when they are resting, either before or after flowering, so for the best results this should be done in the spring, before the summer growth. Purchase some suitable potting compost and a larger pot than the one the plant already sits in, find some old gardening gloves and cover a table with newspaper. Then all you need to do is follow Apartment Geeks infographic, a step-by-step guide that proves you don’t need the skills of Alan Titchmarsh to produce thriving healthy plants.
