Should I do a wet transplant or a dry transplant?

Should I do the transplant before or after I water?

I would say Dry, but i'm far from experienced myself.

NEver, i mean never, transplant dry...two reasons

1. Dry soil crumbles and could pull off valuable roots while youre trying to remove it from the original pot. Wet soil sticks together

2. The crumbling can cause air pockets once in the new pot, air pockets equals dead roots if they lose contact with moisture

Its possible to do it dry dont get me wrong but why risk it? I water lightly but evenly, wait 24 hours, transplant, then water deeply (waiting 24 hours is optional) but i do it to help relieve shock bc the plants are able to soak up all that moisture pre-transplant

dry. its easier to remove and work with a plant with dry soil. when pulln the plant out break of ne excess dirt around root ball w.out damagn roots then place in new pot (already filled mostly with soil) then fill in with soil 1" above where soil was in last pot and gently press down soil in to firm position n then you water it well. you cant get "air pockets" in your soil if you have been and continue to water it lol. water will seep in all pores and settle soil fine. with wet all the weight of soil + moisture is pulling down on ur roots from the plant (not good) and your plant will be/has been drinkn so its full of water 2! ive seen it done both ways. i just prefer dry and believe its safer.

in between

I do it dry. lighty press on the pot to loosen its grip. if it is has a lot of root circling, then I use a razor and make a few vertical cuts down the rootball. put in new pot/soil, water.

I have had excellent results when transplanting this way, dont seem to see any transplant shock at all. if I dont score the roots, it seems to be a few days or a week for it to "recover"


Also, if you look up a user "riddleem3" (i think is it) he has a "make it rain" thread, and in there somewhere he describes flooding out the roots, it will make the plant "go to sleep", then do your transplant. I havent tried it yet, as wet soil, falls all apart and trashed my roots last time i tried.

drdavegreenthumb said:

dry. its easier to remove and work with a plant with dry soil. when pulln the plant out break of ne excess dirt around root ball w.out damagn roots then place in new pot (already filled mostly with soil) then fill in with soil 1" above where soil was in last pot and gently press down soil in to firm position n then you water it well. you cant get "air pockets" in your soil if you have been and continue to water it lol. water will seep in all pores and settle soil fine. with wet all the weight of soil + moisture is pulling down on ur roots from the plant (not good) and your plant will be/has been drinkn so its full of water 2! ive seen it done both ways. i just prefer dry and believe its safer.

Click to expand...

I have seen air pockets when pulling small plants out of plastic pots that were not transplanted correctly, granted it was not our lovely cannabis bc i grow that in smartpots (i have a small vegetable plot with 14 different types of plants that i've grown for 3 years) but still just saying it is a risk...if you pull dry dirt off a dense root system during transplant it is possible to form a pocket where the soil was more loose and if very little soil is able to get through, especially coarse or chunky soil, pockets can form bc we are packing down, making it even harder for soil to settle perfectly in. I have seen dead roots, mold, etc in those pockets and i will throw away those transplants,granted they're vegetables and seeds are easy to come by in large quantities

there are alot of ifs and variables here but i was just giving a warning for the OP, like you said it has been done both ways and i have to respectfully disagree that dry is safer in plastic pots...not trying to argue though my boy, lets light one up!

I transplant when the soil moisture is the same as that of nice moist cake. Not too dry, not too wet, but right in between. Lets say it needs to be watered every 2-3 days being in a smaller pot. Transplant the day before you would normally plan on watering. Gently tap the sides and bottom to loosen the root ball and it might pull right up, if not tilt sideways then slow angle it downwards while applying outward pressure and it should slip out. If it doesnt come out easily using these methods a pair of snips works perfectly to cut the pot from round the root ball. Good luck

Follow the above post for a successful transplant.

Dry...dry comes out in one piece and them give a good soak in the container/hole.

I do my trans few days after watering. Soil holds to together better.