How to Repot -- Easily!

The best way to repot 95% of the time is also, honestly, the simplest!

You will need:

• Your plant's new pot
• The plant you want to repot
• Extra potting mix, ideally appropriate for the plant
• A decent work area where you can get a little messy

... That's really it, for the most part!

Repotting

1. Prep the new pot with an inch or two of potting mix (mix it yourself if you can!) You want it high enough that if you place the old pot on the potting mix, it comes to a little bit below the lip of the new pot.
2. Take your plant out of the pot it's in, as intact as possible. If it's a nursery pot/thin plastic one, gently squeeze it to loosen it and it should slide out easily; if it's potted directly in a thicker decorative pot, run a butter knife along the outer edge to loosen it instead.
   
   Optional: knock off any already-loose soil -- sometimes even with rootbound plants, there'll be random bits with few/no roots, because plants are weird that way! Do not remove any potting mix that is clinging to the roots! This will break root hairs 100% of the time -- and they're how the plant takes up most of the water! How much damage this will do depends on the individual species of plant -- but as a general rule, avoid removing anything that doesn't want to let go!
3. Plop it on top of the potting mix in the new pot, just as one piece in the centre! If it's a decorative pot, make sure it's facing the direction you want, and regardless of pot, try to centre the plant as much as possible -- both for aesthetic reasons and because that gives roots the best chance of filling the pot evenly!
4. Fill in the sides of the pot with more potting mix. You don't want to pack it in there like brown sugar, but you DO want it to be fairly firm and able to hold up the plant, so pack it down a little bit. Picking it up and tapping it gently on the table can help settle the potting mix and release any air pockets! 
   
   While filling in the sides, watch to make sure that you aren't putting soil too far up -- soil should be filled up to about the same spot on the plant as it was before the repot. Too high, and some species will rot pretty quickly!
5. Give it a decent watering! This helps settle the soil even more and firms it up.
   
   The only real exception to this is succulents, including things like hoyas and snake plants; I usually wait to repot them until they need to be watered as well, but don't water them unless the plant itself is asking for it -- hoyas and snakes will be bendable, succulents will generally have thin leaves/stems. Many succulent plants can actually be harmed by taking up too much water independently of root rot. For other plants, though, water away; root rot isn't directly caused by too much water, but by a lack of oxygen around the roots (generally due to water there instead)!)

The only time I generally suggest to disturb the roots and get rid of the trapped potting mix is if it's REALLY not ideal for the plant/your conditions, pretty much -- or if there's root rot present and you need to cut it away. Every time you repot, you damage the roots at least a little bit; disturbing the roots as little as possible minimizes this. If you DO disturb the roots, hold off on any fertilizer for a week or two; it can burn damaged roots.