Most of the time I grow plants from seeds, but sometimes if I see some plants which I like in the nursery I buy and plant at home. Many people have asked how to transfer plants to pots and re-plant them. I recently got an Orange plant and a small Petunia plant and I took some pictures so that I can explain the steps one by one.
Things you need:
- Red sand (mixed or without manure)
- Cow Dung (if you get the sand in nursery usually they mix manure and give)
- Compost
- Pots (various sizes based on needs)
- Garden Shovel
- Big plate to mix sand (We call it Bandli or Baand)
- Small chair if you prefer to sit and mix
Step 1:
You would need all the items mentioned in the needed list. I have the bigger pot since oranges would go into trees. The yellow bag is the red sand and cow dung manure mixed together. The one in the plate is the compost prepared at home from kitchen waste (I’ll write a detailed blog next on how to compost at home)
Step 2:
Once you have all the required things sorted, we start with layering red sand and cow dung mix in the pot first. Fill upto 1/4th of the pot.
Step 3:
Fill a layer of compost so that it covers less than half the pot.
Step 4:
Fill a layer of sand mix and then remove the plant from the plastic wrapper and set it inside the pot so that the roots are covered from 3/4th of the plant. Fill again with sand mix and cover till the pot is almost full leaving around 2 inches on top free. You can see the pot with the tree in the last picture. Finally water the plant as much as needed. Sometimes the sand mix could be damp then less water is needed. If it’s dry you can add some more water. I will update once the Orange plant grows and produces some fruits which will take some months.
For smaller plants, I have a Petunia flower plant bought from the same nursery. It has to follow the same steps as above. Start with the sand mix, then compost. Keep the plant inside and again add sand mix as needed. Finally cover till the pot is more than 3/4th filled and water the plant.
The best part about Petunia is it will bloom at least one flower everyday and they come in bright colours. The below picture is after 2 weeks from planting. You can see how much the plant has already grown and is flowering.
I hope this gives an idea on how to re-plant store bought plants and please comment below if you have any questions which I can help with. Happy Gardening 🙂
Chennaivaasi 