The Great Living Room Repot

In Containers, Timelapse Videos on 21 November 2011 tagged Alocasia, Planters, Repot

It rained all day yesterday, so it was a perfect time to tend to the indoor garden. Three of my larger living room plants were in dire need of a repot, so I combined them into one very large planter. I set up a timelapse camera and took a bunch of photos to capture the process. The result is probably the closest thing to a music video I’ll ever appear in.

A few notes:

• Sorry about that keyframe. Next time I’m going to put the timelapse camera someplace that gets more of the plants and less of my butt.
• Watching this now helps me understand why my back hurts so much today. Next time I’ve got to raise the planter so I don’t have to bend over so much. Ow.
• Plantgasm readers may recognize some of these plants. The big one I plant first is the Alocasia odora that bloomed and berried this year. And the second is the enormous Philodendron gloriousum I timelapsed back in February.
• See how the edges of the Philodendron gloriousum leaves are brown? That’s what inspired the big repot. My theory is that the plant is not getting enough water. So the new planter, in addition to simply being larger, is a Lechuza self-watering planter, which is great for water-loving plants.
• Also included in the pot: Dieffenbachia and Monstera I grew from cuttings, a Plectranthus oertendahlii from Mr. Subjunctive as a spiller, an Aglaonema ‘White Lance’ from Taylor, and a Schismatoglottis I picked up at the SF Botanical Garden’s last plant sale.
• I need a haircut. I know.
• The song is from a long mix called “Brainfreeze” by DJ Shadow, largely composed of old soul samples. It’s used with admiration if not permission.
• I love watching the sunlight move across the room. You can see the kind of light these plants get: indirect in the morning with a few hours of direct light in the afternoon.
• Special thanks to my dear, patient wife for taking the photo of me holding the roots and putting up with my mess all day (and every day).
• Those roots I’m holding are from the Alocasia odora. They were coiled up around the bottom of the pot, and when I uncoiled them they were at least seven feet long.
• A major repotting like this is hard on the plants. The Philodendron gloriosum looks especially droopy afterward. Hopefully it’ll perk up after a few days.

See Also

• The Big Jungle Pot: Thrillers, Fillers, and Spillers
  This pot was a joy to make and I hope it brings good luck to my friend's new business.
• My New Two-Tier Low-Water Triangle Planter
  The Sea Squill grows in sand and crevices in beachy areas. When I bought it, the salesman said, "plant it, water it, and then never water it again.' Sounds like the perfect crown jewel to my new two-tier low-water triangle extravaganza.
• Jewel Alocasia Bloom
  My Alocasia melo bloomed today. I just love his adorable little polka-dotted winkie.