For todays post I wanted to share the process of repotting a vintage plant that I’ve had in my family for over 30 years! The Victorian favourite also known as the ‘cast-iron-plant’ – the aspidistra is well known for being able to withstand neglect, and is extremely tolerant to
lower levels of light. This plant has been sitting in my Nan’s hall for as long as I can remember and last week I found an old photograph from when she was younger… and in the background I spotted this plant! That got me thinking that it hasn’t been repotted for years and it was extremely pot bound [see photographs of the rhizomatic roots below] and looking very choked. I took it outside and removed the pot before giving the roots a good trim. They were very densely compacted so I had to be quite careful but managed to separate the plant into three more managable clusters. I filled three medium sized pots with fresh compost and positioned them in, giving the roots plenty of new room to grow. I watered them with a hosepipe and cleaned the elegant leaves down with a cloth to wipe away any dust that had settled on them.
Above shows the division of the main plant into the three pots after having been watered. I think this will have hopefully given the plant a new lease of life and now that it is not so crowded in the pot, the sculptural form of the glossy dark leaves is more apparent. I took one of the smaller plants home and now need to get a nice ceramic pot and decide where to put it!
CARE TIPS:
Something to bear in mind with these ‘cast iron’ plants is that they really don’t require much light and the leaves will bleach if it’s exposed to too much. It also doesn’t like its soil being constantly saturated with water, or being repotted too frequently, every 5 years or so is absolutely fine…. I think it’s been well over that since its last repotting!
Thanks for reading!
HOUSEPLANTHOUSE 