Repot indoor plants in Australia in early spring, from September to November, once new growth appears. The weeks before spring are for planning, not for disturbing roots. This guide covers the signs a plant actually needs a bigger pot, how to repot without setting it back, and when to start feeding again.
| Job | When, in Australia | Why then |
|---|---|---|
| Repotting | September – November | Roots rebuild fastest while the plant is in active growth |
| First feed of the season | Early September | New growth can use it |
| Last feed of the season | End of March | Growth is slowing into autumn |
| No feeding at all | June – August | A dormant plant cannot use it |
| Dusting leaves, checking for pests | Any time, and worth doing before spring | More light reaching the leaf going into the growing season |
| Moving plants back from cold glass | For as long as nights stay cold | Cold glass and draughts cause leaf drop |
When should you repot indoor plants in Australia?
September to November, and the trigger is new growth rather than a date. Once you see a fresh leaf unfurling, the plant has the energy to rebuild the roots you are about to disturb.
This is the single most inverted piece of plant advice on the internet. Almost every “repot in spring” article is written for the northern hemisphere, where spring means March. Follow that calendar in Australia and you are repotting straight into autumn, with the coldest, slowest three months ahead of the plant.
Warmer parts of the country wake up first. A Brisbane plant may be pushing new leaves while a Melbourne one is still holding perfectly still, so watch the plant rather than the month.
How do you know a plant actually needs repotting?
Most plants need it far less often than people assume. Look for two or more of these before you buy a bigger pot.
- Roots out of the drainage holes, or circling visibly on the surface of the mix.
- Water runs straight through and out the bottom within seconds of pouring it in.
- The mix has shrunk away from the sides of the pot, and the whole pot dries out within a couple of days.
- The plant is top-heavy and tips over when you knock the pot.
- Growth stalled through last spring and summer despite reasonable light and feeding.
One sign that is not on that list: a plant simply looking miserable. That is usually a light or water problem, and repotting a struggling plant adds a second problem on top of the first.
How to repot without setting the plant back
Half an hour, outside or on newspaper, once the plant is growing again.
- Water the plant the day before. Damp mix holds together, so the root ball slides out in one piece instead of tearing.
- Choose a pot one size up, not three. Too much extra mix holds more water than the roots can drink, which is how a repot turns into root rot. Our Jardin terrazzo pots come in stepped sizes for exactly this; if a decorative pot has no drainage hole, leave the plant in its nursery pot inside it.
- Half-fill the new pot with fresh indoor potting mix. Fresh mix, not garden soil, and not the tired stuff you just tipped out.
- Ease the plant out and loosen the root ball. Tease apart roots that have wound into a spiral, and cut away anything black, soft or smelling sour.
- Set it at the same depth it was before. Backfill around the sides, firm it gently, and leave a finger’s width below the rim so water has somewhere to go.
- Water once, thoroughly, then stop. Let it drain properly and do not feed for a few weeks, because fresh mix carries its own nutrients.
- Put it back in the same spot. A repot plus a new position is two shocks at once.
Wear gloves for anything in the Ficus or Philodendron families. Our care cards flag the sap on those lines as an irritant, and it is easier to avoid than to wash off. Old mix and trimmed offcuts are still toxic if a pet gets into them, so bin them rather than leaving them on the balcony (RSPCA Australia).
There is more step-by-step detail in our guide to repotting a plant if this is your first time.
When should you start feeding again after winter?
Early September, with the first new growth of the season. Feed through spring and summer, take the last feed around the end of March, then leave it alone until September comes round again.
“Feed me fertiliser in spring/summer only. Winter is not for me.” — from our Giant Bird of Paradise care card
Feeding a dormant plant does not wake it up. It is not growing, so it cannot use the nutrients, and they sit in cold wet mix instead. Our indoor plant food is a liquid feed you add to the watering can. Follow the rate on the bottle, because more is not better and a heavy dose burns roots.
One exception worth knowing: a plant you repot in September does not need feeding until October, since the fresh mix is already carrying nutrients.
What else is worth doing before spring?
This is the useful part of the waiting, and none of it disturbs the plant.
- Dust the leaves. A dull leaf collects less light, and a damp cloth fixes it. Our leaf shine and plant food duo covers the cleaning and the September feed in one go.
- Check the leaf undersides. Scale, mealybug and mites are easier to deal with now than after a warm fortnight has let them multiply.
- Top-dress instead of repotting where the pot is still the right size: scrape off the top few centimetres of tired mix and replace it with fresh.
- Prune the leggy growth from the dim months so the spring flush goes into good leaves rather than long bare stems.
- Move plants back from cold glass, then reassess once the nights warm up and the sun angle lifts the light in the room.
What should you not do before spring?
Not yet, on almost everything. Do not repot, do not feed, and do not cut a plant back hard hoping to force new growth out of it.
Do not up-pot two or three sizes to save doing the job again in two years. The plant sits in mix it cannot dry out, and you have traded a small task for a root problem.
And do not water to a schedule. A pot that needed a drink weekly in January can hold water for a fortnight in the cold months, so keep checking the top 3cm and let the mix decide. From September, our spring plant care guide picks up the routine from here.
Repotting and feeding FAQs
Can I repot an indoor plant in winter?
Only as a rescue. If a plant is sitting in sour, soggy mix or its pot has broken, deal with it straight away and treat it as first aid rather than an upgrade: same pot size, fresh mix, no feed. Otherwise the plant is better off waiting until September, when it can actually rebuild roots.
Why has my plant drooped since I repotted it?
Disturbed roots take a fortnight or so to take up water properly again, and the plant sheds a little to cope. Keep it in the same spot, water it once and then only when the top 3cm dries, and hold off feeding. If new growth appears within a month, it has come through fine.
Do indoor plants need repotting every year?
No, and most do not. Repot on the signs rather than the calendar: roots through the drainage holes, water running straight through, or a pot that dries out in two days. A plant in the right-sized pot is often better off with a top-dress of fresh mix and nothing else.
The Good Plant Co nursery team · Last updated 12 September 2026
Part of Plant First Aid , our index of what to do when something goes wrong. For the per-plant guides, start at The Indoor Plant Care Library .