How To Replant Succulents Successfully - Audrey's Little Farm

There are a few reasons why you would want to replant your succulents, and in this article, I’ll talk about each of the reasons and share tips on how to replant successfully!

Audrey's Little Farm may earn a commission after clicking links on this page at no additional cost to you. Learn more.

Whether you’ve been growing succulents for years or you’re just getting started with a new plant, there is always more to learn!

I remember when I first got interested in succulent plants and how overwhelmed I felt with all there was to learn—like when is it time for a new pot? What’s the best time to water a succulent? Does your new plant need fresh soil?

But the more I’ve learned about caring for succulents, the more I’ve realized how easy it can really be. As long as you know the basics of succulent care, such as how not to overwater, and choosing a good succulent soil mix, everything else should fall into place. Your new succulents will thrive in their new home with just a few important steps.

How to Replant Succulents

First, let’s review a few of the most common reasons you would replant your succulents.

1.) You bought new succulents and need to transplant them into the ground or a pot.

2.) You propagated succulents from stem cuttings and want to plant them.

3.) Your succulents are outgrowing their current home and need to be moved to a larger pot.

No matter your reason for transplanting your succulents, if you follow all the tips below, your plants should grow beautifully!

Step 1: Remove all the dirt from the roots.

Whether you are transplanting the succulent from another pot or digging it up from the ground, it’s important to remove the dirt. Carefully pull the succulent plants from their current pot, being gentle so as not to break or disturb new growth.

It’s common to buy succulents that aren’t planted in potting soil suited for succulent plants, so it’s essential to get rid of the old soil when you move baby plants from their old pot.

You’ll often buy a succulent, and when you take it out of the pot, all the soil is stuck to its roots, like in the picture below.

If the soil around the roots isn’t well-draining, it will eventually stay wet for too long, which can cause root rot. Take a few simple steps to plant in new soil and give your succulent the proper care to get sufficient drainage for the new root system.

Step 2: Break up roots if needed.

Sometimes, when you remove a succulent from a pot, it will have huge root balls that are all bunched together.

If that’s the case, breaking them up or removing some of the roots before replanting is perfectly okay. Too much soil will cause root rot and other problems. Breaking up the root ball is the best way to encourage new roots and growth.

Step 3: Choose a pot with drainage or an area in the ground with well-draining soil.

If you plant your succulents in a pot, the most important thing is that it has drainage holes. If you find a pot you love but it doesn’t have drainage, you can drill it yourself. Learn to drill your own drain holes here.

Or, if you’re feeling really creative, you can even build your own succulent planter box!

If you plant your succulents straight into the ground, make sure it’s an area suitable for the succulents you grow, such as in the shade, full sun, indirect sunlight, etc. For the best results, follow the guidelines on the tag or look up your succulent type.

If you’re putting the new plant in the yard, be sure it’s surrounded by fast-draining soil. If you have clay soil, you don’t want to plant straight into the ground because that holds onto too much water.

Step 4: For potted succulents, plant in a good quality succulent mix.

You can buy an already mixed succulent soil such as Back to the Roots 100% Organic Succulent & Cacti Mix or Hoffman Cactus and Succulent Mix.

Or you can even make your own succulent soil.

Above all, don’t just grab regular potting soil—make sure the soil is well-draining. Cactus soil or specialty succulent soil will be best for the new container. You want to avoid too much moisture on the succulent roots.

Step 5: Plant complementing succulents.

By complementing succulents, I mean planting succulents together that require similar care. Sometimes, you’ll find succulent arrangements in a large container, but it’s important to make sure they’re a succulent collection with the same light and water requirements. If not, moving them from the larger container to individual pots is a good idea.

If you want to put the pot in the shade of a porch, choose a succulent variety that prefers shade, such as String of Bananas.

Choose indoor varieties such as Panda Plant and Zebra Plant if you want your succulents to be indoors.

Or, if you want your succulents to be in full sun, choose a sun-loving variety such as Blue Chalk Sticks.

There are so many different shapes and types of succulents out there to choose from. They may have different needs, but with just a bit of research, you can find a great type of succulent that will work perfectly for you!

If you’re a zone 9 gardener, check out The Best Succulents for Zone 9 here!

Succulent Care Tips for Successful Repotted Plants

Once you replant your succulents the right way, following all the steps above, you’re more than halfway to success!

The tips below are just as crucial so your succulents can continue growing healthy and beautiful.

1.) Water Deeply Versus Just Misting

It’s pretty common to see people just misting their succulents with a spray bottle, but misting a succulent’s leaves isn’t really effective.

The key is watering at the base of the plant, deeply and infrequently, versus just a mist all the time.

2.) Get On a Watering Schedule

For the most part, succulents are drought tolerant and store water in their leaves, so they don’t need to be watered often.

An underwatered succulent can almost always recover, but an overwatered succulent will turn to mush.

So, the best thing to do is to start off by only watering every 2-3 weeks, working your way down to possibly once or twice a week to test out what is needed.

Water needs will all change depending on the weather as well.

For example, when it’s blazing hot in the summer, you should usually water 2-3 times per week, but in winter, you may only need to water once a month.

3.) Treat Pests Immediately, if Spotted

A common succulent pest is a mealybug; if you come across them, it’s important to get rid of them as soon as possible!

You can learn how to spot and kill mealybugs here.

Video Tutorial: Tips for Successfully Replanting Succulents

How to Replant Succulents Successfully

My Favorite Succulent Resources

If you’re looking for more education, I’ve read and recommend The Idiot’s Guide to Succulents—it was very helpful for all your basic information.

Looking for more succulent resources? Here are some helpful links:

• Unique handmade pots for succulents
• Hanging planters for succulents
• Live succulent plants
• Thoughtful gifts for succulent lovers

Pin it for Later