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I have had my Monstera Deliciosa since March 2020, it's still relatively small (maybe five big leaves) but has become very top heavy and looks like it has outgrown it's current pot. It is also growing outwards rather than upwards and taking up a lot more space than it needs to! See pictures.

I would like to repot it and add a support but I've read online that the best time to do this is in Spring/Summer when it is actively growing.

What do you think about repotting it now in the winter? Is there anything I should know about if I do decide to go ahead and repot it now?

Many thanks for your help!

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  • These plants do quite well when they are pot bound and a bigger pot will help it get wider and taller!
    – kevinskio
    Jan 14, 2021 at 19:07

3 Answers 3

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You can repot plants during the winter with care. If you leave the root-ball intact and you just back fill the extra space around it in the new pot you do not have to worry. The key is not to bother with the roots.

Usually plants should be repotted during the growing season so they have better conditions to regenerate any damage to the roots, etc.

Note that a larger pot will dry out slower and with winter conditions pots dry out slower already. Make sure to avoid over watering with the larger pot and only water when the soil is dry.

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Bence is right about that. I would just add that the plant may be growing outwards, having the leaves facing the window growing bigger, maybe finding the light intensity from the window more suitable than what's around the pot area. In the warmth inside the house you may still notice some growth, albeit slowed down. I don't know how warm is the area, but this may cause the plants to retain some growth. I myself have seen a few of my Alocasias growing this winter because of outstandingly high temperatures for the season.

One thing does not change, though, the days are shorter and still, it's not as warm as in the growth season, so with both short days and lower temperatures growth is slow, if any. You can re-pot it now, but I see no hurry doing so. It was around last fall, that I cleared a low-growing branch from a Philodendron Bipinnatifidum (Now classified as Thaumatophyllum) in order to make place for my tropical plants under the Philodendron's canopy. The 2" to 3" stem had two aerial roots sticking out. I just took the cutting and placed it in water. I then removed a yellow leaf and exposed one more node from which a root has emerged. I then placed it in a pot (it was around late fall!). The cutting has rooted successfully even with the approach of winter. That thing would work with plants that respond to climate changes/control and are therefore regarded as "opportunistic". You cannot, however, do the same thing with plants that require dormancy as a must, and not "optional".

From my experience, the plants may root and even grow if temperatures are high enough or if they are protected from lower temperatures. However, things would have gone more quickly if I waited till spring. They may also respond to daylight duration, not just temperature. I did that in the fall because I attempted to root a cutting that I had to remove anyway. It is not, however, a good idea to do it in winter as a routine.

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If you want to add a support such as a moss stick, I suggest you wait to repot till late February/early March when daylight is not in such short supply, if you can bear to - you will need to insert the stick into the soil and this may well cause some root damage which, as others say, is harder for the plant to recover from at this time of year.

In the meantime, the plant is actually too close to the wall behind it, which is a partial explanation for why it is groping forward, with the daylight and the plant's attempts to reach it also contributing. I suggest you turn the plant round, so the leafier parts are facing the wall; this will mean having it a bit further away from the wall until the top growth turns back the other way again. It won't look pretty because it's like you're looking at the 'back' of the plant, but there should not be a 'back', growth should be even all round. Once repotted with support in place, stand it further away from the wall and rotate periodically so all areas receive daylight over a few weeks.

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