How to Transplant a Flowering Kohleria Plant
- 1). Combine an equal mixture of perlite and peat moss. Fill a larger planting pot halfway with this mixture. The pot needs to be at least one size larger than the pot the kohleria currently resides in.
- 2). Place the pot with the plant in it on its side. Carefully pull the plant out of the container. You may need to squeeze the container lightly to pry the soil and root ball from the pot if it's plastic. If not, a few hard taps all around the side should do the trick. If all else fails, running a thin, hard strip around the inside of the pot will loosen it.
- 3). Trim off the lower leaves of the plant. These leaves will appear smaller and less developed than the newer leaves in the crown.
- 4). Remove the old soil from the plant. Now take the long stem and wind it around the root ball. Continue to wind until only the top 1 inch or so of the stem remains unwound---the stem below the crown, or the top leaves of the plant. This will reduce the legginess of your plant and give it a more compact look when transplanted. The buried stem will root in the new soil and make the plant sturdier.
- 5). Center the root ball and wound stem into the peat moss and perlite mixture. You'll need to make an adjustment first, however, because the stem and leaf crown will be on one side of the rootball, not centered above it. Do this by making a small indentation in the root ball/stem mass with your finger. The unwound stem and its leaf crown will then fit into this slot so as to be centered above the roots. Cover your kohleria's root ball and wound stem with an inch or two of soil.
- 6). Fill the pot with fresh potting soil, leaving ½ inch of head space.
- 7). Water to settle the plant into its new soil. Water until you see water draining from the pot. Place the plant in direct sunlight.
