How I Repotted My Hanging Succulent: The 6′ Trails Were A Challenge!
My Grey Fishhooks Senecio had trails over 6′ long and was growing in the 6″ pot just as it came from the grower’s greenhouse. It’s been happily doing it’s trailing thing in a very bright spot, with about an hour of direct sun, on the patio off of my living room enjoying the hot desert days and evenings. This hanging succulent keeps on growing and I knew that the pot was getting way too small for it.
Time to spring into action and step up to a little repotting challenge!
The little repotting job was not so little but that’s what I expected. When you’re transplanting the succulent version of Lady Godiva it’s not an easy undertaking after all! Finding a hanging pot that I like is always a challenge for me. They’re either too cheap looking, too bulky, too heavy or just plain ugly. I found this one that I really liked and the size was spot on.
I like the pattern of this hanging pot and also the fact that both pot and the chain are strong and solid. The dark brown color didn’t float my boat so I decided to spray it a deep red. I used this paint giving it 3 light coats and then sealed it with this. The chain is securely fastened onto the pot (it doesn’t clip on and off) so it took a bit of a finagling to get those long trails sectioned and straightened out. I think it would have taken just as long to try to get the chain off and on so I chose to leave it on for the repotting.
Here’s my hanging succulent all potted up but what a mess it was to untangle!
Now its all sectioned out & ready to be hung back in its spot on the side patio.
The Mix I Used
The planting medium I used is a combination of 4 parts succulent and cactus mix, 1 part potting soil and 1/2 part compost. As always, I top dressed my hanging succulent with worm castings. If I was still living on the coast of California I would have used all succulent and cactus mix with just a sprinkling of compost. Because I now live in the Arizona desert where summers are very hot, I used this combo because I want the mix to hold a bit more moisture but still drain very well. I don’t want to be watering my fleshy succulents every day!
My Grey Fishhooks Senecio is hanging back in its spot looking as happy as a succulent has a right to. It now has plenty of room to grow although I’m not too sure I want it to get too much longer. Oh well, I can always cut off those ends and stick them back in the pot. Aren’t succulents wonderful?!
Happy gardening,
My Fishhooks Senecio once hung off my Bougainvillea glabra in Santa Barbara. It now lives in the Arizona desert & seems to be lovin’ the heat!
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Nell, the founder of Joy Us garden, was born into a gardening family and grew up in Connecticut’s countryside. After living in Boston, New York, San Francisco, & Santa Barbara, she now calls the Arizona desert home. She studied horticulture & garden design, working in the field all her life. Nell is a gardener, designer, blogger, Youtube creator, & author. She’s been gardening for a very long time & wants to share what she’s learned with you.
I think this was a fun video…thanks for showing us how to repot a longgggg growing plant. I was wondering though, does this pot have drainage holes? Thanks for your help!!!
You are a JOY to watch, Nell. Plus, I learn a lot. “A garden is a thing of beauty and a job forever.”- Anonymous
Well thank YOU so much Miyuki! I just moved to the desert from the coast of California so I have a lot of learning to do also. Gardens are beautiful & a job I don’t mind at all. All the best, Nell
Sounds exciting! We also moved from NJ to TX (Houston), so I feel like a kindergartener, hungry to learn and try gardening a la Texan. I say it again, but you are a great SENSEI. Thank you for sharing your knowledge in a fun way! 🙂
Hi Joy, I have had my fish hooks for about 9 months. It was doing well in a south facing window. Several months after I bought it I removed it from the plastic pot it came in and repotted it to a slightly larger pot, then moved it to a east facing window where the top of the plant gets direct morning sun and the trails get no direct sun and are in low light. Now many of the leaves toward the ends of the trails have completely shriveled to brown dry things that are falling off. I moved it for aesthetic reasons – I wanted a trailing plant in our bedroom. Am I giving it too little light? Or could it be my soil (I may have neglected to put it in a cactus mix)? I water it about every 3 weeks. Thank you!
Hi Kerith – Succulent mix ensures the water thoroughly drains out of the pot & at least the top half of the soil has a chance to dry out. If that happens with the mix you planted it into, then that’s not the issue. I have mine growing in filtered light outdoors & it’s doing great. Indoors they need good light so that sounds like the issue to me. Plus, the daylight hours are getting shorter now. Nell