As to repotting, the new compost you use will have enough plant food in it to take the plant through to spring so you don't need to add anything else. When it comes to drainage, you can put crocks in the bottom of the pot or use some hydroleca but with a decent watering regime, it isn't really necessary especially as the pot will have holes in the base. I stand some inner pots on cola bottle tops so that if I do overwater for some reason then the pot won't be sitting in water until the roots are damaged. Of course this should never happen but we all make mistakes sometimes.
I wouldn't go larger than the 22cm pot. To be honest even that sounds a bit too big as your plant will be sitting in wet compost just when it will be slowing down for winter. When it comes to compost, I use whatever happens to be hanging around in the greenhouse, mixing it to get a non-claggy medium. Get rid of all the moss when you repot.
I use Baby Bio with my houseplants. Tried and tested and easy to apply and no need to have a dozen different plant feed bottles hanging around on the kitchen windowsill.
I will stop watering daily, and only water when the top few centimetres of compost feel dry. I might try misting it too, as the link says.
What size pot would you say is ideal - 20cm, 18cm, 16cm, or less?
Would this compost (picture below) be non-claggy enough as-is?
I will feed with the Babybio as you suggest. Do I wait until spring to use that?
And when I am repotting, should I be very careful and delicate in my handling of the roots, but do I need to try and pull off all the old soil as much as possible?
Sorry for all the questions! I'm relieved to have a plan now, I'm looking forward to sorting this plant out.
They need good drainage, I would be inclined to mix orchid compost with standard houseplant compost, 50:50 and make sure it never sits in water. You could use grit or perlite instead or in addition.... there are no rules, it just wants to have a coarse open texture and be free draining.
It wouldn't hurt to shake the old compost off of the roots and then re-spread them in the new pot as you fill with compost. Do not bury roots that were previously on the surface. This is one of those plants that likes to have a bit of root exposed, similar to orchids.
Generally with repotting I go for a pot which is about an inch larger all round. I wouldn't be thinking about plant food.
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour".
That's a good idea, so I might get orchid compost too and mix them both. I will be so careful with the water now - no watering every day, and I will make sure it does not stand in water.
I will shake the roots and re-spread as best I can. That's a useful tip about the exposed roots on the surface, I will make sure not to bury them. I was wondering about them, but didn't want to ask too many questions! They do remind me of orchids in their look.
So I'm looking at a pot around 18cm diameter then, as my original one is 13cm.
I last posted on this thread July 22. I can't believe it's that long ago! I haven't fed it just an occasional water and it doesn't seem to mind. When I repotted it I just lifted it out of it's existing pot into a larger one and filled in the sides with extra compost. I don't think it even realised it had been moved. It is still going strong and must be a few years old now.
That's a big plant @Fran IOM, it looks really healthy! The leaves are a nice deep forest green and I can see quite a few central stems in there. I love how it probably didn't realise it had been moved
Well I hope mine will perk up with the repotting and less water ...
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I will stop watering daily, and only water when the top few centimetres of compost feel dry. I might try misting it too, as the link says.
What size pot would you say is ideal - 20cm, 18cm, 16cm, or less?
Would this compost (picture below) be non-claggy enough as-is?
I will feed with the Babybio as you suggest. Do I wait until spring to use that?
And when I am repotting, should I be very careful and delicate in my handling of the roots, but do I need to try and pull off all the old soil as much as possible?
Sorry for all the questions! I'm relieved to have a plan now, I'm looking forward to sorting this plant out.
It wouldn't hurt to shake the old compost off of the roots and then re-spread them in the new pot as you fill with compost. Do not bury roots that were previously on the surface. This is one of those plants that likes to have a bit of root exposed, similar to orchids.
Generally with repotting I go for a pot which is about an inch larger all round. I wouldn't be thinking about plant food.