How to Repot a Ficus: Timing, Pot Size and Compost

Late spring, and not often

Repotting tears roots, and the plant can only replace them while it is warm and growing. Late spring is the moment: rising warmth, strengthening light, and a whole season ahead to fill the new pot.

A young ficus wants a fresh pot every two years. An established plant in a large pot may go four or five years, and after that you can keep it going indefinitely by replacing the top few inches of compost each spring instead of repotting at all.

Never repot a plant that is actively shedding leaves after a move. Let it settle and hold a steady leaf count for a month first.

How to tell it actually needs it

A ficus flowers and grows perfectly well slightly tight in its pot, so repot on evidence rather than on a schedule.

1. Water runs straight through Water appears at the drainage holes almost instantly and the compost barely darkens. The roots have filled the pot and water is running down channels rather than soaking in.
2. Roots out of the bottom Roots pushing through the drainage holes, or circling visibly on the surface, mean the pot is full. Sliding the plant out and finding a solid mat of root confirms it.
3. It dries out within two days A plant that needs water twice a week in a moderate room in spring has more root than compost.
4. It keeps falling over When the top growth outweighs the pot, the roots are equally cramped. A heavier pot solves the balance and the root space at the same time.

One size up, never more

Moving a ficus into a much larger pot surrounds the rootball with compost that has no roots in it, and that compost stays wet for weeks. It is the classic way to rot a healthy plant while thinking you are being generous.

Choose a heavy pot for a tall plant. A six foot fiddle leaf fig in a light plastic pot goes over the first time someone brushes past it, and a snapped main stem is a two year setback.

The mix and the actual job

Ficus roots want air as much as water. A dense, water retentive compost straight from the bag holds too much and is behind a large share of indoor ficus decline. Open it up before you use it.

1. Mix for drainage Roughly three parts good houseplant compost to one part perlite and one part fine orchid bark. It should feel loose in the hand and water should run through it freely.
2. Loosen the outside of the rootball Tease the outer roots free with your fingers, and cut any that circle the pot. Roots left circling keep circling and eventually strangle the plant.
3. Set it at the same depth Keep the point where the stem meets the roots at the same level as before. Burying the stem deeper rots it.
4. Firm gently and water once Press the compost in without compacting it, water thoroughly until it drains, and then leave it alone. Do not water again until the top two inches are dry.

Root pruning to hold it at a size

When a plant is as big as you want it, root pruning keeps it there without letting it decline. Slide it out, shave about a quarter off the outside and bottom of the rootball with a clean knife, and put it back in the same pot with fresh compost around the edges.

Reduce the top by roughly the same proportion at the same time so the remaining roots are not asked to support a full crown. Do this only in late spring, and only on a plant that is otherwise healthy.

Do not root prune and hard prune the top on the same day if the plant has been struggling. On a weak plant, do one this year and the other next.

The month after

Keep the plant in its usual bright position but out of strong direct sun for two or three weeks, and be careful with water: the disturbed roots take up less than they did, so the pot dries more slowly than you expect.

Do not feed for at least a month. Fresh compost contains enough, and fertilizer on cut root ends burns them. Some leaf drop in the first fortnight is normal and stops once new roots take hold. Record the date, the pot size and the mix, so that in three years you know exactly when it was last done.