Repotting The plant you bring home from the garden shop will need to be replanted before too long. You can usually tell if the plant has outgrown its pot if the plant is almost twice as big as the pot and if its roots have filled the pot and are growing through the draining holes in the bottom. (The plant is then said to be root-bound.) When this happens you should plant it in a larger pot soon—one with a diameter about an inch larger than the old pot.
 
Drop a piece of broken clay pot or several large pebbles into the new pot to cover the hole. (This is to make sure that water can drain out freely.) Put putting soil in the bottom of the new pot—enough so that the ball of the soil from the old pot will be about an inch from the top of the new pot.
 
Remove the plant from the old pot by holding the pot upside down and gently tugging on the plant. If the plant does not pop right out, gently tap the pot on a hard surface until you're able to extract the plant with the ball of roots intact. When the plant is out, place it in the new pot, making sure that the plant is in an upright position. Fill in the sides with potting soil and top with more. Gently press the soil and plant into place.
 
Place the pot in a pan or sink full of water so the water is nearly up to the rim of the pot. Leave it there until the soil on top is damp. This may take 15 to 20 minutes. After you water the plant for the first time, you may need to add more soil.
 
Watering The roots of plants need both air and water to survive. The roots should be in slightly damp soil but not standing in water. Add water to the plant only when the soil has dried out. Use water that is room temperature; water from the cold tap is too cold most of the year. Pour water into the pot (not on the plant) until it runs out the hole in the bottom.

Wait a minute, then remove the water that collected in the saucer. If the soil in the pot has become very dry, place the pot in water in a pan or sink as you did after repotting. And remember that most plants suffer more from too much water than from too little. With too much water, the roots suffocate and rot.