Philodendron transplant shock, repotting stress or repot shock is something that can commonly occur when your Philodendron is moved into a new location.
The symptoms shown can often be mistaken for other causes which can be a bit annoying as you may not be able to know the culprit right away.
Also if you’re wondering if your plant will recover after transplant shock, the answer is most of the time it will recover on it’s own as long as the care stays good.
So here is a little about transplant shock, signs, how long it lasts and what you can do in the meantime while your Philodendron is going through it.
What Causes Transplant Shock
A Philodendron going through transplant shock can be caused by a few different things.
One of which has to do with disturbing or damaging the roots during a transplant or repot.
This can happen quite easily as you will have to remove the whole plant each time you repot, and Philodendrons don’t like being root bound so you will end up repotting more often than not.
Another cause for transplant shock is from the plant being moved to a new environment whether that be from using different soil, a different size container or a new location altogether.
This sort of stresses out the plant and it will respond in a variety of ways that can seem pretty concerning if you didn’t know about this topic beforehand.
Signs Of Transplant Shock In Philodendron’s
There are actually many different signs your Philodendron could be experiencing transplant shock and some of those signs include the following.
- Leaves falling off
- Leaves turning red
- Leaves turning yellow
- Drooping leaves
- Curling leaves
- Leaves turning brown
- Dry and crispy leaves similar to sun scorch symptoms
- Brown tips or edges
- Stunted or slowed growth altogether
While all of these symptoms can be a sign transplant shock is to blame, it’s certainly possible there could be other root causes for those signs.
If these issues only appeared shortly after a repot then most likely it’s from the shock, but if they were there before then you should check out my articles highlighted above to see what’s really going on.
Afterall, most of those symptoms are pretty concerning so I wouldn’t just say it’s only repotting stress and call it a day.
Do whatever you need to do to keep your Philodendron happy and healthy!
How Long Does Transplant Shock Last?
While transplant shock duration can range quite significantly between different types of plants, most of the time you can expect these symptoms to show anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
It’s important to keep your expectations managed so you don’t get discouraged if they don’t resolve faster than you have hoped.
With that said, there is some evidence that Epsom salt added to the soil can help plants recover from transplant shock faster, but information is still a bit limited so it’s not a guarantee just yet.
A lot of people swear by this so it’s definitely worth looking into if you want to increase the odds of your Philodendron recovering faster than it would normally.
Overall just be patient, provide the best care you can and your Philodendron should recover on it’s own in no time, well just a little bit of time.
How To Prevent Transplant Shock
Although transplant shock is a very common thing to happen and is almost always a certainty, there are some things you can do to reduce the chances of it happening in the future.
Or at the very least, ease this process and make it that much easier on the plant.
Prune back old or unhealthy leaves
By pruning away unhealthy growth, you are making way for fresh and healthy new growth by allowing your Philodendron to focus more energy on the latter.
This is always a good practice in general, even if you’re not doing a repot by the way.
The less leaves a plant has, the more energy can be focused on growing new leaves and will ease transplant shock much better.
Prune unhealthy roots
When you first remove your Philodendron from the original container or soil, have a look at the roots.
If they appear dark, mushy or easily fall apart then you should prune them back with some sterile gardening shears.
This ensures your plant will have a strong start in the new soil or container that you’re transplanting to.
Plus this helps prevent many other issues along the way as unhealthy roots are a breeding ground for serious issues rather than something not so serious like transplant shock.
Keep the roots intact
One of the most important things to remember when repotting is to keep the roots together and have as many healthy ones as possible.
The more roots you have the better!
Disturbing or damaging roots is also something you should be aware of as this stresses plants out and can lead to transplant shock on it’s own.
Just be careful when removing your Philodendron and you will be good to go.
Try Epsom salt
As mentioned before, Epsom salt is growing in popularity for helping ease transplant shock due to the magnesium being provided to plants when it’s present in the soil.
This can help boost growth and make your Philodendron quite happy!
If you want to try this then you can dilute 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt into a gallon of water and then apply it to the new soil before or after planting.
You can even place the salt itself near the bottom of the soil without water before transplanting if you prefer that way as it will work in a similar fashion.
Only go up 1 pot size
Every time you perform a repot, it’s best to only go up one pot size at a time to ensure you’re not going to use a container that is too large.
If you end up with one that is too big, then it can make it easier to accidentally overwater or have water that doesn’t drain fast enough for your Philodendron.
Keep it similar
One of the main reasons why a Philodendron can get transplant shock is from it not being used to a new environment.
It’s best to keep everything similar to how it was before to reduce the shock, or even prevent it entirely.
This means using the same type of soil as before, receiving the same amount of light as before and so on.
Unless you were having issues with the soil or light, you should keep it pretty similar!
Last Words
Overall I hope you found this information very useful so you can know what to expect and what you can do to help your Philodendron recover from transplant shock!
Just be sure to look closely to be sure that this is the cause for the issues you’re experiencing and that it’s not something else going on.
With patience and time, your newly transplanted Philodendron will look and grow it’s best in the near future.
As always happy gardening and enjoy the process!