When plants are in the same pot for an extended period of time, the roots can take over -- if you open the pot up, there probably won't be much soil left in there, or space for water and nutrients to penetrate the roots. But repotting a plant is very easy -- and your plant will love you for it.

Repotting a Ficus How-To
1. First, choose a pot -- a good rule of thumb is a pot that is 2 to 4 inches larger your previous pot. Make sure the pot has a drainage hole. Place rocks or broken pottery over drainage hole so soil doesn't clog up the hole.

2. To remove the ficus from its original pot, give a good squeeze around the pot to loosen the edges. If roots protrude from bottom of pot, cut them off. Pull the plant out of pot, keeping in mind that you may need to cut open the interior plastic pot with a knife.

3. Making sure that the top of the root ball is a couple inches below the rim of your new pot, place your plant into the new pot. Add potting soil. If potting soil does not have a fertilizer in it, add some slow-release osmocote.

4. Just add water, and you are finished. Don't be alarmed if it drops some leaves in the days after repotting; it most likely will -- you'll see new growth in no time.

Resources
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