The mother-in-law's seat (bot. Echonicactus grusonii), also known as the gold ball cactus, is one of the most popular cacti in the living room at home, as is the Christmas cactus. It is quite easy to care for, but not necessarily easy to repot.
How do I properly repot a mother-in-law seat?
When repotting a mother-in-law's seat, you should wear sturdy gloves, treat the roots carefully and use special cactus soil or a mixture of soil, sand and clay granules. Pour carefully first to avoid waterlogging.
Do I have to repot my mother-in-law seat regularly?
The recommendations for repotting the mother-in-law's seat vary from annual repotting to repotting when absolutely necessary. It's best to orientate yourself on the size of your plant. If the cactus still fits well in the pot, you can definitely wait a while before repotting it again. If the container becomes scarce, then repot your mother-in-law seat in the spring.
Which soil does my mother-in-law need?
Ideally, place your mother-in-law seat in special cactus soil (€12.00 on Amazon). Alternatively, you can use a mixture of potting soil, clay granules and sand in approximately equal proportions. After repotting, water the cactus carefully so that the soil gets close to the roots.
What should I pay attention to when repotting my mother-in-law seat?
First of all, you should make sure that you survive the procedure unharmed and, if possible, your cactus too. That's why you should definitely wear robust and sturdy work gloves. To protect your fingers and the cactus a little better, you can also carefully wrap the plant with newspaper.
Carefully remove your mother-in-law seat from the old pot and remove the old soil carefully so as not to damage the delicate roots. The new planter should be about 10 centimeters larger than the pot. Place some larger pottery shards over the pot's drainage hole and top with fresh cactus soil.
If your vessel doesn't have a drainage hole, drill one in it or use another vessel. Otherwise it's easy to get waterlogged and your mother-in-law doesn't like that at all. It quickly leads to root rot.
The most important tips for repotting:
- put on robust work gloves
- If necessary, wrap the cactus with newspaper
- proceed with caution
- Don’t hurt roots
- use good cactus soil or a mixture of soil, sand and clay granules
- just pour carefully
Tip
Be sure to wear sturdy work gloves when repotting your mother-in-law seat to avoid painful injuries.
