Take Baby Steps for Success When Choosing A Pot Size

Baby Steps for Success - Pam Beck
When choosing a pot size for your young transplant, it can be tempting to take a small plant and put it into a very large pot in order to encourage it to grow. However, because the potting medium surrounding a young transplant may hold more water than would be utilized by the plant, this quick fix could result in root rot.

Instead, repot your transplants into containers only one or two inches larger than their original pot size, allow enough time for the expanding roots to fill in, then you can bump your healthy plants up again.

About Pam Beck


Pam Beck began her gardening education in 1987 by volunteering in a public herb garden, which inspired her to join the Master Gardeners and take horticulture classes. She has worked in garden center retail, learned plant production hands-on in a nursery, created designs for landscape contractors and homeowners, and was an assistant with Cooperative Extension for a short time. She has scouted and styled for Better Homes & Gardens magazine; served on the Board of Advisors for two university botanical gardens; and, taught Adult Education landscaping classes for Wake Tech; but, you probably know her best as an award-winning freelance garden writer, lecturer, and photographer. Pam is the co-author of Best Garden Plants for North Carolina, regularly contributed articles in Carolina Gardener Magazine for 16 years, and for 5 years she was a monthly garden columnist for the Raleigh News & Observer. Currently, her busy speaking schedule takes her throughout the Southeast enthusiastically sharing her love of plants, gardens of all kinds, and the people who tend them.

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