You Grow Girl™

I spent some time repotting succulents and cacti this week. Generally this isn't the best time of year to repot plants that are about to go into their dormant period, but some of my plants were desperate for new containers. It is also approaching that time when I return the houseplants placed outside for the summer to their home indoors and as a result I need to know how much space I have available to me. Since several plants required larger containers it means I will have less space then I did a few months ago. Plus I am hoping to attend the The Exotic Plant and Flower Festival in Guelph next weekend and you KNOW I'm going to purchase something. I need to know ahead of time just how much space is available and what I can give away in anticipation of purchasing new, more coveted plants.

The cat had knocked over my aloe vera that morning which resulted in a very sad looking plant. Many of the leaves were crushed, bruised or broken and required removal. I had been planning for months to repot it so in reality she hastened the inevitable. The plant had become extremely pot bound with several large and small offsets struggling for space in a small container. In the end I kept half, placing them in a new pot, and gave the other half away to a friend.

Several succulents that were only babies a year ago had grown too large for their pots and needed more space if they were going to continue to thrive. I also trimmed back growth on some plants that had become leggy following poor placement in inadequate lighting.

The most drastic change was the repotting nightmare of the burro's tail. It is a large plant with very long tails and I had been putting off repotting it for far too long. The plant was starting to suffer and I knew it needed a new home but I had been avoiding this task for MANY months due to the delicate nature of this plant. The plant drops leaves very easily when touched and I knew I was going to end up with a bald plant after accomplishing the task. Needless to say it's pretty sad looking and there were MANY leaves littering the floor by the time I was done. The new setup is much better. The plant has lots of space, fresh soil and a nice pot (rather than the crappy plastic hanging basket it came in years ago). To minimize the nasty effects of all that leaf dropping I cut back some of the long stems that had empty patches and am awaiting repotting them. I kept some of the leaves and placed them on top of the soil where they will develop roots and become new plants. In the photo you can see some of the bare patches that occured around the root area. Luckily that part is up high and basically unseen from eye level.