Pots to Repot

   Many people park their indoor plants outside for the summer. I don't because every time I did my treasures played host to all sorts of bugs and scale, even the one on a screened-in porch.
   I have one exception to this rule. They're two pots of mother's tongue or what my family called snake plant. The original plants sat on each side of my Grandmother Piper's front door every summer. She died, in 1952, at the age of 92. The plants have traveled many miles, been divided, repotted, and shared. Today, their offspring grace the wall by my front door; living in the same jardinières my grandmother once used.
   Houseplants faithfully serve both our physic and health by providing oxygen to the air, with the added benefit of having fresh greenery during the winter season. They too, need seasonal attention and early fall is an excellent time for this easy chore.
   Over time their soil loses its nutrients though water leaching it away and through the roots as they to continue to grow. I don't recommend putting it off like one I once had that was so root bound we had to smash the plastic pot to remove it from bondage.
   1. Use a new container, a size larger if possible that has a drainage hole. Or give the old container a good scrub with water and a bit (half a teaspoon) of bleach to kill old fertilizer and minute organisms that find homes in cracks and creases. I recycle pots from the nursery for my plants and then house them in decorative pots that are lined with aluminum foil to prevent staining.
   2. Remove the plant from the container. Gently, shake old soil from the roots. If the roots are in a tight ball take a knife and slice them in several (four) places. You can trim the ends of the roots and separate them. Wash any remaining old soil off the roots. Fill a pan with water and let the roots soak while you prepare the new pot. Don't forget to rinse the foliage to remove house dust and other pests that find a home in your plants, like tiny spiders.
   3. Use a paper coffee filter to cover the drain hole of the plant container pot. This prevents soil from falling through into the pan. Fill one-third of the post with prepared potting soil that absorbs excess water and releases it gradually to the soil.
   4. Place the plant into the new pot with the crown about an inch below the top of the pot to allow space for watering. Then fill in around the roots with fresh soil gently tamping it in as you go.
   5. Moisten soil.
   Your houseplants will last many years with a little TLC every two to three years, even when your thumb like mine tends to be more tan than green.
   Nash Black, author of Catspaw of Death.