My plant collapsed after I repotted it

Most of a plant's drinking is done by root hairs so fine you cannot see them. They tear when the rootball is moved, no matter how gently. Until they regrow — a week or two for most houseplants — the plant is drinking through a fraction of the surface it had on Sunday, and it responds by drooping and by dropping a leaf or two.

This is not damage you caused by being clumsy. It is the cost of repotting, and it is why the advice below is mostly about restraint.

The two look similar in week one and could not be more different by week four.

Ordinary shock — the plant droops or sulks, the stem and base stay firm, the compost dries at a normal rate, and by the end of the second week there is visible improvement.

A pot that is too big — the plant droops and does not improve, and the compost is still damp two weeks later. A large pot holds far more water than a small root system can drink. The unused compost stays wet, air is driven out, and ordinary shock turns into root rot. This is the commonest way a well-meant repot kills a plant.

The rule is roughly one size up — about two inches wider than the old pot, no more. Potting a small plant straight into a big pot to "save doing it again" is the single most common repotting mistake, and the damage takes a month to show.

Check at two weeks. Firm base, drying compost, new growth coming: shock, and it is passing. Damp compost, no improvement, a base going soft or smelling sour: this is no longer shock and root rot is the page you need.

• Water once, thoroughly, at the repot, then leave it until the top two inches are dry. Fresh compost holds moisture far better than the exhausted stuff you removed, so the old interval is usually too often.
• Keep it out of direct sun for a fortnight. Bright shade. Strong light demands water the roots cannot yet supply.
• Do not feed it. Most fresh compost carries several weeks of nutrients, and a damaged root system cannot take up fertiliser — it adds salts to soil the plant is already struggling in. In the resting season this matters twice over; the app pauses feeding for a reason.
• Leave it alone. No moving it about, no repotting it again, no pulling it up to check the roots. Each of those is another disturbance on top of the first.
• Support it if it is falling over, with a cane — a plant that cannot hold itself up while the roots re-establish is worth propping rather than worrying about.
• Expect to lose a leaf or two. A plant shedding one or two older leaves after a repot is balancing what it can support. Shedding continuously for weeks is not shock.

• Watering it again because it is drooping. The commonest error, and the one this page exists to prevent. A recently repotted plant droops from disturbed roots, not from thirst, and its fresh compost is usually still damp. Check the soil before you reach for the watering can — and if you are unsure whether it is thirsty or drowning, drooping leaves separates the two.
• Feeding it to help it recover. It cannot use it, and it makes the compost harsher.
• Moving it somewhere brighter to perk it up. More light means more water lost through the leaves, from roots that cannot yet replace it.
• Repotting again, into something bigger. If the pot is genuinely too large, going down a size into dry fresh compost is the fix — not up.

The plants people repot most eagerly are the ones that sulk — monstera and pothos grow fast enough to look pot-bound long before they are, and spider plant is repotted more often than almost anything on the strength of a few roots at the drainage hole, which on its own is not a reason.

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How long does transplant shock last in houseplants?

Usually one to two weeks, and improvement should be visible by the end of the second. If the plant is no better after a fortnight and the compost is still damp, it is no longer shock — the pot is probably too large and the roots are sitting wet.

Should I water a plant after repotting?

Once, thoroughly, at the time of the repot — then leave it until the top two inches are dry. Fresh compost holds moisture much better than the old, so watering on the previous schedule is usually too often and is the commonest way a repot goes wrong.

Why is my plant drooping after repotting?

Because the fine root hairs it drinks through were torn when the rootball was moved, and until they regrow it cannot take up water properly. It is normal and it usually passes. Watering more will not shorten it and may cause a second, worse problem.

Did I use a pot that is too big?

Check at two weeks. If the compost is still damp and the plant has not improved, almost certainly yes. Roughly one size up — about two inches wider than the old pot — is the rule; a much larger pot holds water the small root system cannot drink, which drives the air out and leads to rot.

When is the best time to repot a houseplant?

Spring and early summer, when the plant is growing and can regrow roots quickly. Repotting in autumn or winter, when growth has slowed, means a longer recovery in colder, darker conditions — so unless the plant is genuinely suffering in its pot, it is better to wait for spring.

The RHS's guidance on repotting houseplants covers doing it well; this page is the fortnight afterwards, when it looks as though it went badly. Sabz's Check-up knows when you last repotted, because a repot is something you log — so it can tell the difference between a plant that was disturbed nine days ago and one that has simply been watered too often all month, which look identical on the day you ask.