Why do potted plants need to have their soil changed (Is it okay to not change the soil for flowers bought online)

After a period of cultivation, flower plants need to be repotted and the soil changed. To put it simply, the purpose of changing the soil is to improve the growth conditions of flowers so that they can grow better.

Changing the soil can replenish nutrients

Plants need nutrients to grow, and the source of nutrients comes from the soil. The nutrients in the soil are limited, especially for potted plants, which only have a little bit of soil.

Although we also supplement fertilizers in the later stage, most of the fertilizers we supplement are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Other trace elements are generally not supplemented because they are already in the soil and plants have less demand for these trace elements.

Nevertheless, after a long period of consumption, trace elements will be exhausted. In this case, we can replenish trace elements by changing the soil.

Change the soil to ensure that it is loose and breathable

After a long period of watering and fertilizing, the surface of the soil will gradually become hard and compacted. Compacted soil is not conducive to the growth of plants, and changing the soil can solve this problem well.

After one to two years, the soil in the pot becomes compacted. It’s okay, we can just replace it with new soil.

Changing the soil creates more space for flower roots

When you first plant flowers, the seedlings are relatively small and the flower pots are also small. After a period of growth, the roots grow a lot. The original space cannot meet the growth of the roots. At this time, you can solve the problem by changing the pot.

When repotting, you can choose to remove the original soil or not. It is not recommended to remove too much of the original soil, generally one-third to half is enough. The newly added soil should be consistent with the original soil and should not be too different.

Root rot and disease require soil replacement

During the maintenance process, if improper maintenance causes water accumulation and root rot, or if the root system develops some diseases, the usual practice is to repot.

When repotting, the original soil should also be removed because the original soil has been infected by bacteria. If it is not changed, the bacteria will continue to infect the plant.