If you are reading this, chances you have planted one of our kits and are looking for the next step in your sprout's growing process! If your sprout is a few inches tall, it is probably ready to put planted in its forever home. How soon you will need to transplant depends on the variety of plants you are growing. Different seed types have different growth rates. Some plants will be ready for their new home in just a couple of weeks (veggies), while others can take a year or so (bonsai)! You want to take all precautions that you don't transplant too soon and severely damage or kill your sprout you've worked so hard to grow!
If you are growing our Bonsai Grow Kit or our 8-variety Bonsai Seed Set, you will most likely need to wait up to a year or even longer to re-pot the sprouts! Again, this depends on the variety. For example, the Flame Tree will be ready to put in a new pot WAY sooner than any of the Spruces! The best time to re-pot Bonsai is in the Springtime, but if they show clear signs of needing a new home right away, you can do so! View our YouTube video on transplanting Bonsai sprouts here.
Growing one of our Herb, Veggie, Flower, or Cactus and Succulent kits? You will be re-potting much sooner than the Bonsai Kits, minus some of the slower-growing cactus and succulents, which can stay in their pots for up to two years!
Are you interested in purchasing one of our products? We have two kinds!. Our Starter Kits come with 4 seed varieties and everything you need to sprout the seeds; soil, pots, plant markers, sprout sheers, and an instruction manual. Our Seed Sets have 8-10 seed varieties and plant markers. You will need to purchase soil and pots separately. You can view all our garden kits here!
You will want to transplant once the sprouts are around 6" tall. Don't re-plant until they have developed a few sets of leaves. You will more than likely have more than one sprout in your pot, so you will want to thin out the weaker, less healthy sprouts before doing so. Trying to separate the individual sprouts at this point is risky, as it's easy to damage the entangled roots. Below are some other signs your plant baby needs a new home:
- Rootbound! If you are starting to see lots of roots poking out the bottom of the pots or creeping to the surface, you should start thinking about re-potting them!
- Soil drying out fast/water not soaking into the soil. If you are starting to have trouble with your soil drying out quickly and when you water, the water drains right out of the pot and doesn't soak into the soil, this is another sign your plant needs a new home.
- Looking pale/lacking color. When plants start to get rootbound, they tend to start looking sick. They will begin to look spotty, pale, and yellowish, lacking in their green luster. This is also a sign they are lacking nutrients!
The very first thing you want to do before you even think about taking your sprout out of its original pot is to make sure you have all the supplies! Make sure you have new soil, new pots/containers (or garden bed), water, and plant food ready to go. You can read all about what kind of soil and plant food to get here.
Start by filling up your new pots with the new soil. It's good to give the soil a good soak before planting and then letting it drain. If you are putting your plants in the ground, you'll also want to water first.
Next, Dig a little divot/hole where you want your sprout to go.
Now it's time to remove your sprout from its first home! You'll want to very gently and carefully remove it, trying to damage the roots and plant as little as possible. Massage the outside of the pot gently with your hands. This helps loosen up the soil to come out of the pot easier.
From here, place your hand over the top of the pot, around the sprout's base, and slowly flip the pot upside down. Gravity should help you slide the sprout/soil out. If this isn't working smoothly, you can always use scissors and cut down the pot's side, but keep in mind you can't reuse the pot again! Once the sprout it out, place it in the small hole you created and fill around the roots with more soil. You will want to give it another watering, preferably with some plant food!
Avoid re-planting in the sun! It's best to transplant in the evening. Your sprout will need a couple days before it can handle hot, direct sunlight. And once again, don't get impatient and re-home your sprout too soon! 
If you have any questions about the above information( or anything else), please reach out to us! You can do that on our website, our Facebook page, or email us at wecare@shopgardenrepublic.com. We are always happily standing by, waiting to help you and your plants!
Happy Transplanting!
Ready to start your own garden? Check out our indoor garden kits!
