How to Transplant Baby Plants

Nurseries only carry a few varieties of many plants, but if you start your own seeds, you can add to the diversity of plant varieties in your garden. After your seeds have sprouted and the young plants are two to three inches tall, it’s time to transplant them into pots of their own. It’s risky to transplant tender baby plants directly into your garden beds when they’re still small and fragile, because so many insects and other critters can eat them or stomp on them. They’re just babies, after all! The same thing goes for young, newly rooted cuttings. After they have formed a good number of roots, transplant the survivors into larger pots. When they are large and robust, that’s the time to transplant them into your garden.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 3-inch nursery pots
• Baby plants, about 2 to 3 inches tall
• Potting soil
• Trowel or weeding tool

1. Fill your small pots about 2/3 full with potting mix.

2. Water the potting soil in your pots well.

3. Carefully uproot your baby plants with a small trowel or weeding tool. Be sure you're ready to transplant them right away.

4. Pick up each plant by its leaves, not the stem.

5. Carefully place each baby plant into its own pot.

6. Hold the plant upright by its leaves with one hand. With the other hand, gently scoop more potting mix around the base of the plant.

7. Pat down the soil mix around the base of the plant when the pot is full.

8. Water gently and keep your baby plants out of direct sunlight for the first few days to avoid transplant shock.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use products like Vitamin B-1 to reduce transplant shock, but if you have done the transplanting gently and keep your baby plants out of the hot sun, most types of plants should be all right without needing special products to help them.
• When your plants are big and strong in a month or two (or longer, depending on the plant), that’s the time you can safely transplant them into your garden. Just be certain to protect them against bugs and other critters while they’re still young, and keep them well watered if it doesn’t rain.
• Don't forget that snails and slugs love young, succulent plants. Use repellent products or diatomaceous earth around the plants to deter these pests.