The beginner's guide to repotting

Repotting is the plant equivalent of moving house: stressful for everyone involved, but necessary every couple of years. Done gently, your plant will barely notice.

Know the signs. Roots circling the bottom of the pot, roots pushing out of drainage holes, water running straight through, or a plant that has simply stopped growing in spring are all invitations to repot.

Go up one size — never two. A pot two sizes too big holds water that the roots can't reach, and that is how overwatering happens even when you didn't change your habits. One size up, always.

Use fresh potting mix and a pot with drainage. This is the non-negotiable. A pot without a drainage hole is a flooded basement waiting to happen.

The technique: water the plant the day before, tilt and squeeze the pot loose, tease the root ball gently, and settle it at the same depth it was before. Fill around, tap, and water once thoroughly.

Give it a week of slightly reduced light while it settles, then return to normal. And don't repot in winter — plants do their best root-growing in the growing season.