A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Need to repot my peace lily

I was given this peace lily when my daughter died a few years ago, so it is very very important to me. The plant has survived two moves, tho it has been neglected a bit. I need to repot it because the "pot" that it is in is actually a basket and it just getting old and cracked. I found some nice pots that have drainage holes so one of them should work. I just have a couple of questions and I'm hoping I can get some answers before I go out to the store later tomorrow (please!).

1. Can I pot the plant in a pot that is either the same size or slightly smaller? I ask this because the plant really is not that big...now I haven't looked at the roots yet, so maybe looking at the roots will tell me this, but I'd kind of like a smaller pot.

2. I know I need a well draining soil, but what kind do I get? Do I use a cactus type of soil??? I'm going to Lowes and Wally World, so that tells you what my choices are going to be.

3. If the new soil doesn't have fertilizer in it, what do I feed the plant? And do I feed it after I have repotted it or do I need to wait a little bit to let it get over any kind of shock that it may get?

jenn, i've had one since my mother died in 1991. regular (good quality) potting soil is fine if it is in a pot that drains well. if it seems root bound when you pull it out of the pot, you can trim the roots on the outside with a sharp knife. just make sure the knife is very clean. and the same size pot is good.

i haven't ever fed mine, although i do use something like miracle grow for the soil. which has fert. in it.

expect it to pout a little right after repotting, but it should be fine. if you have other questions, let me know!

I have fed mine with Miracle Grow Blossom Booster and it seems to like that. I keep it in a corner of the kitchen where it gets indirect southern exposure - it is blooming again now.

Thanks Jiffy,

I did some quick reading last night before I went to bed and did my best at repotting it. I got a pot that has a good drain hole in the bottom and I put some rocks in the very bottom and then put in a mixture of regular potting soil (miracle grow) and cactus soil (to make sure it would drain better). I'm glad I decided to repot the lily...there was a little mold in the soil that touched the pot that it was in. So, I removed every bit of soil from the plant and roots and washed the roots off. The roots were longer than I expected, but there weren't as many as I thought there would be. The fact that the plant has put out 3 new leaves in the last month makes me feel a little about the plant's root system. I think it just needed to be repotted and given some TLC. It seemed to like being outside for the 3 hours that I was out there working on various things. I still need to clean off the leaves (they are dusty), but I'll get that done when the kids go to bed.