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GardeningSG
Horticulture techniques

Transplanting

Gardening skills

Basic plant care

Edible gardening

17 October 2023

Transplanting is the act of moving a plant to grow from one place to another. Seedlings, cuttings, and root-bound plants all need to be transplanted into new pots, true ground, or wherever the full-size plant should be growing. Learn more about transplanting here.

Two hands transplanting a tomato seedling by making a small hole in a pot of soil

Transplanting is the act of moving a plant to grow from one place to another. Seedlings, cuttings, and root-bound plants all need to be transplanted into new pots, true ground, or wherever the full-size plant should be growing.

What can be transplanted?

It is important to transplant seedlings when they have 4-8 leaves and healthy cuttings with new growth. This is because plants regularly go through a process called transplanting shock after they are transplanted, which may cause the newly transplanted plant to drop their older leaves as they redirect their energy into growing new roots and shoots. Very young seedlings and unhealthy cuttings will have a higher risk of dying before they take root after transplanting.

Transplanting steps

One hand wearing a gardening glove sprinkling a handful of soil into a plastic pot held by an ungloved hand

  1. Make sure that the new planting area, be it a pot, planter bed, or true ground is large enough with the appropriate soil depth for the fully-grown plant. Prepare the soil and remove weeds from the planting area.

A hand holding a small seedling by the rootball

  1. Gently remove the seedling or cutting from its container.

two hands holding seedlings with rootballs

  1. Check the health of your plant. Healthy seedlings and rooted cuttings have white roots. If any roots are dark, soft and slimy, they are rotting. Cut off rotting roots before proceeding.

Two hands transplanting a seedling into a pale pink pot of soil, with one hand making a small hole and the other holding the seedling

  1. Dig a hole in the soil deep enough to cover the roots of your seedling or cutting.

two hands pressing the soil down around a freshly transplanted seedling

  1. Plant the seedling or cutting in the soil. The soil should cover all the roots.

Top view of a young tomato plant in a pale pink plastic pot being watered from a black spout in the bottom right corner

  1. Water your plants immediately after transplanting. These transplants may get transplanting shock after a day or so. Freshly transplanted plants should be protected with shade netting or kept in a shaded area with at least 4 hours of indirect sunlight and watered daily for a week while they recover. This recovery period is also a good time to fertilise the transplants to encourage them to grow more roots, shoots and leaves.

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