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Gardening · Repotting

Repotting by the moon

Repotting is done in the descending moon. Biodynamic practice sees the plant working downwards at this time, into the root. You choose the day by what the plant is grown for: its leaves, its flowers or its fruit.

The next days for repotting

Days with a descending moon in the next four weeks. The symbol shows the day type; unfavourable hours are listed with their times.

Times for Europe/London

Descending moon: time for the root

With the descending moon, tradition places sap and growth in root and soil. Biodynamic practice puts repotting, feeding and pruning into this time.

In a little over 27 days the moon rises once and sinks again. About two weeks in every cycle are therefore repotting time.

Which day type for which plant

Foliage plants such as ferns, monstera or pothos are repotted on a leaf day, and so are potted herbs. Flowering plants such as orchids, pelargoniums or Christmas cactus belong to the flower day. Citrus trees, chillies and tomatoes in containers move into a new pot on a fruit day, bulbs and tubers on a root day.

Repotting thus follows the same pattern as sowing and planting: the day type goes by the plant part that matters.

Hours to avoid

Lunar nodes, perigee, the occultation of a planet by the moon, planetary nodes and eclipses count as unfavourable in the biodynamic calendar, whatever the day type. The days from Good Friday until sunrise on Easter Sunday are added to these.

The list above gives such hours with their times. If fewer than two suitable hours remain free between 6 am and 9 pm, the day is left out of the list.

Frequently asked questions about repotting by the moon

When should you repot plants by the moon?

In the descending moon. Foliage plants on a leaf day, flowering plants on a flower day, citrus and chillies on a fruit day. The next suitable days are at the top of this page.

Repot in a waxing or waning moon?

For repotting, the biodynamic calendar goes by the moon’s course: repotting is done in the descending moon. Waxing and waning describe the light, a different movement of the moon.

When do you repot orchids?

In the descending moon on a flower day, outside the unfavourable hours.

What is a leaf day?

A day on which the moon stands in front of Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces, the three constellations of the element water. On a leaf day you tend what is grown for its leaves.

Gardening by the moon