The Uncommon Life

How To Repot Succulents

June 8, 2012

In the world of trends, Succulent plants seem to be taking home the crown in the fauna and flora category. And why shouldn’t they? Succulents are hardy, unique, and perfect for the dry summer heat. They don’t ask for much, but a good environment No green thumb needed — follow this quick DIY tutorial to repot your succulents and ready for your front porch or city window.

As Charlotte (you know, the one with the web) would say, Salutations! I’m Blair – the bloggin’ gal from the lifestyle and fashion blog, Wild and Precious and now that I’ve introduced myself lets chat about a way to spruce up that patio of yours!

Mix Your Potting Soil

Potting soil recipe:

  • Potting Soil
  • Coffee Grinds
  • Sand

Did you make mudpies growing up? If so, this might be your favorite part — make your own dirt mixture! When picking out potting soil just get the very most basic stuff. You don’t want anything too rich in additives — Succulents just don’t like that stuff. The goal of your dirt mixture is to get water/food/light/nutrients to and away from the roots in a time appropriate fashion. Mix coffee grinds and a little sand into your dirt before filling your pots. The sand will keep your soil from getting too over saturated with moisture (remember, these type of plants are desert dwellers – they aren’t use to a whole lot of the wet stuff) and the coffee grinds will help fertilize as well as keep away slugs and bugs that would otherwise love to nibble your Succulents down to nothingness.

 

Prepare Your Pot

As far as picking out pots the world is your oyster. You don’t need anything too big and can even choose to put more than one succulent together in a pot. With your pot(s) picked out fill 1/3 of each pot with sand. Do not try to cut costs (sand is cheap anyway) by bringing home sand from your beach vacation — that stuff is full of salt and your succulents will no longer be… well, succulent. Sand is important in helping move around and drain water. Once you’ve got the sand in, fill with your dirt mixture leaving a small lip of space up top.

Prepare Your Succulent

Before introducing your plants to their new home give the bottom of the existing dirts/roots a bit of a scrunch. Flare the root structure out a bit. This will help it transition better into its new/bigger/better environment. This is something good to remember when planting anything anywhere. If you don’t break up the bundle they are used to having in their temporary store shells, they might be a little too shy to branch out (pun intended) into their new world.

Pot Your Succulent

Now — where to put them? These guys are not fans of the midday sun. They prefer indirect/filtered sunlight and enjoy a nice airflow (I chose to put mine on my front porch which is roofed). As for watering — unlike planting in your garden, you do not want to water these right away after repotting. Give them some time to adjust and then give a good watering about once a week during the warmer months. Don’t ever leave standing water in your pots — it makes them angry.

Wham bam thank you ma’am we have ourselves some repotted Succulents! Call your self hip cause you’ve got the trendiest little plants on the block. Mischief managed!

Thanks for hanging out with me — pop over any time to say hi Wild & Precious. ta ta friends.

Ready to get started? Shop planters at UncommonGoods >>

The 10 Best Indoor Succulents | Indoor Plant Tips | UncommonGoods

Check out this INFOGRAPHIC to discover the perfect succulent for you. (No green thumb needed.)

33 Comments

  • Reply blair @ wild & precious June 8, 2012 at 10:00 pm

    thanks so much for having me! my porch is so happy with our new three lil’ succulent buddies taking residence there!

  • Reply sally glen turner June 8, 2012 at 11:10 pm

    This was awesome, Blair! Can’t wait to house my own plants!:)

  • Reply Hannah Mackey June 8, 2012 at 11:26 pm

    Blair this is awesome! Can’t wait to test it on my plants!

  • Reply J. Z. Huey June 8, 2012 at 11:36 pm

    Great info, Blair!

    I just love succulents and now you have inspired me to go get some new ones!

    Thanks for the tips!

  • Reply Destiny morris June 8, 2012 at 11:42 pm

    I love succulents so much.
    Good to know how to re pot them!

  • Reply alex w. June 8, 2012 at 11:50 pm

    ok, this is a great for me to read because I was looking for the perfect little plant inspiration for my kitchen window. i have found it! thanks Blair! and now i might have to spread them into multiple pots just to use your ideas!

  • Reply Laura M June 9, 2012 at 12:56 am

    I can’t wait to try this! I have been dying for some succulents so this is perfect. Good to know they prefer the shade!

  • Reply Annie R June 9, 2012 at 1:48 am

    Blair- great tips and super inspiring for the gal wih a definitely not so green thumb. I can’t wait to try my hand at this!.
    PS- love your writing- was cracking up throughout the blog!

  • Reply SarahKL June 9, 2012 at 8:25 am

    Great ideas!! I’ve been wanting to include more greenery in my house and this have me that extra boost to do it!! Thanks!!

  • Reply Julianna K June 9, 2012 at 8:30 am

    Great tutorial Blair! I’ve been looking for something to put on my front porch and now I know! Thanks!

  • Reply claire June 9, 2012 at 9:53 am

    Wow! Blair, great post! I had no idea you had such a green thumb! Way to go.

  • Reply Jessica June 9, 2012 at 1:57 pm

    wow. i can’t wait to try this blair! way to go.

  • Reply Rin June 9, 2012 at 2:58 pm

    So glad I stumbled upon this! Great tips plus I really like this shop – so many cool gift ideas!

  • Reply Anna June 9, 2012 at 11:18 pm

    I’ve been loving the look of effortless succulents but wasn’t sure how to achieve it. Thanks for the step-by-step instructions!

  • Reply emily rozell June 11, 2012 at 10:18 pm

    LOVE this post by the coolest Blair I know! I love her blog and I am inspired to grow a succulent garden this week. My husband and I have a local coffee roasting company here in our town and always looking for ways to use our coffee grounds.

  • Reply Nikki June 15, 2012 at 11:27 am

    That was awesome! Thanks for the info!

  • Reply drew August 31, 2012 at 6:40 pm

    I never though of using coffee as a soil additive, but it does make sense in the long run. However, I am growing about 10+ succulents in regular garden soil, and they are all going strong. My opinion is this: as long as you water and care for the plant, any soil (in reason) can be used.

    • Reply elle April 6, 2016 at 2:28 pm

      thank you for saying that! mine are in soil and im like oh crap do i have to re-pot them all now? its good to hear from someone who has them in just soil

  • Reply Sid June 5, 2013 at 6:54 pm

    This is going to help me tons in repotting my new succulent Ed.

  • Reply MBT Shoes July 25, 2013 at 12:31 am

    Even today, we continue to analyze and enjoy his work.

  • Reply O, So Pretty Succulent - July 25, 2013 at 11:35 pm

    […] It was really easy to repot the succulent.  For a really good tutorial, read this one here from the blog, The Goods […]

  • Reply Elise April 30, 2014 at 4:55 pm

    Thanks for the post. My son & I are excited about playing with succulents. What is the ratio of coffee grounds to sand to soil? I bought some sand & picked up some free grounds. We are ready to go. Thanks.

    • Reply Gaby D April 30, 2014 at 5:40 pm

      Hi Elise! I didn’t write this post but my mom gave me some advice recently… two TBSPs for an 8 inch pot once a month. You can let the grounds soak in water and pour them in when you’re watering. Hope that helps. Happy planting!

  • Reply New York Flower Shop Talk June 18, 2014 at 11:23 am

    […] This allows them to continue growing without sacrificing the root structure. As for how to re-pot, Uncommon Goods has some […]

  • Reply ay June 25, 2014 at 2:20 am

    any kind of coffee grounds?

  • Reply Cassie June 30, 2014 at 3:26 pm

    Hey there! You can use any kind of coffee grounds, but they should already be spent. Since you get to make the coffee first and then recycle the old grounds, you don’t even have to waste any of that precious caffeine.

    Thanks for asking!
    Cassie | UncommonGoods

  • Reply Planting Succulents | BeLofty August 21, 2014 at 2:56 pm

    […] followed this blog post’s suggestions for repotting my new friends, so next came mixing some potting soil […]

  • Reply Lydia Davenport September 17, 2016 at 7:39 am

    Thanks for the much needed help! Enjoy that baby!

    • Reply Emily G. September 19, 2016 at 4:32 pm

      Glad our post was helpful to you, Lydia!

  • Reply Jessica November 6, 2016 at 4:24 pm

    Hi! Great post. I’m just wondering why you say they prefer indirect sunlight? I bought succulents bc i live in SoCal and thought that since these plants have adapted to desert sun, shouldn’t I be able to leave them in direct sunlight as though they were in the desert?

    • Reply Emily G. November 7, 2016 at 11:33 am

      Hi Jessica,
      Great question! How much sunlight a succulent needs can depend on its type – some will thrive in direct sunlight like you mentioned, while others need low sun or partial shade. Check out our succulent infographic to learn more.
      Thanks for reading the blog!

  • Reply Richard August 21, 2017 at 7:02 pm

    Sand is not the best idea for succulents. The roots need to breath and sand is too fine to allow much oxygen and water tends to pool and drain poorly in sand. Use Cellulite or non-clumping cat litter instead.

  • Reply Kara April 5, 2018 at 1:26 pm

    This is terrible advice. Succulents need much more drainage than regular potting soil, and sand is even worse, it compacts, inhibiting drainage. You’re awful at this.

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