Best Ways to Water African Violets

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Should you cut roots when repotting? I often get asked this question when people are repotting their houseplants. The answer is yes, but you need to know how much to cut. If you cut too much, the plant can go into transplant shock and not acclimate to its new pot. I have a video on transplant shock, which I will link below, along with any other videos I mention in this video.

Before I give you my rule of thumb for cutting roots before repotting, let’s talk about the benefits of doing some root pruning prior to repotting. Cutting some of the roots, like on this plant that I’m getting ready to repot, this beautiful Dracaena Janet Craig, can stimulate the plant to create new roots as well as stimulate the existing roots that you’ve cut to venture into the new soil. If you simply stick the root ball into the new pot without doing anything to the roots, there’s a chance the old roots won’t be stimulated to go into the new soil, or it will take them some time to do so. You want them to start acclimating as soon as possible. They may also continue to circle in the pot, so if you see that circling, you definitely want to loosen up some of those roots.

Now let’s talk about how much of the existing roots to cut. My rule of thumb is to cut no more than one-third of the roots when repotting, leaving the other two-thirds untouched. If you cut back too many of the roots, as mentioned, the plant can go into transplant shock. I have a video on what to do if you think your plant has gone into transplant shock and how to figure out if it has.

To cut back roots, you can do this once you get the plant out of the pot and have shaken off excess soil, like I have on this one. You want to strategically cut some of the roots off by an inch or two, depending on the length of the roots. The longer the roots, the more you would cut—two inches rather than one inch. If they are very short roots, you would want to go one inch. If you’re doing much smaller cuts than that, the plant may not be ready to be repotted. I have an entire playlist on repotting, which I will link below. It shows you step by step how to repot your houseplants.

As mentioned, you’ll want to cut about one-third of the roots. This plant has a good root system, but I’m not going to hack off all the roots. I’m going to take off about one-third, cutting a couple of inches here and there. Also, you should cut out any damaged roots. For example, this root was already damaged, so I’m going to cut it off. Don’t go crazy cutting; be careful not to overdo it. If you see circling roots, cut in two or three places to stop the circling so that the roots will start to go into the new soil.

Once you’ve cut the roots, make sure to repot the plant right away. You don’t want the cut roots exposed to air for too long, as this can cause transplant shock.

Check out my repotting series for more info on repotting your houseplants. I have several videos where I repot various houseplants.

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