---
title: "My coworker has had this plant since 2016. It’s never been repotted…"
description: "My coworker has had this plant since 2016. It’s never been repotted as far as I know and used to be a lot bigger with a separate off shoot that died. Should I…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/647b3ce50a7251085571d92a"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "Cstarr"
published: "2023-06-03T13:15:17.397Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Hiokex8e2cHJsSBJdeKMVtDEcuIoNePuGj4gwV7wHZo/edd09766cce4406ba9d43f3460028e0e.webp?size=large"
---

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# My coworker has had this plant since 2016. It’s never been repotted…

_Posted by Cstarr on 2023-06-03_

My coworker has had this plant since 2016. It’s never been repotted as far as I know and used to be a lot bigger with a separate off shoot that died. Should I just repot it and hope for the best? Haven’t looked at the roots yet, kinda worried they might be trashed (there is no drainage hole in this pot). Also, there is some white stuff on top of the soil, what is this? Thanks!

![Attachment 1 of 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/Hiokex8e2cHJsSBJdeKMVtDEcuIoNePuGj4gwV7wHZo/edd09766cce4406ba9d43f3460028e0e.webp?size=large)

## 6 comments

### Fern \<3 commented on 2023-06-03

I don’t like the look of that soil…you should remove it and change the soil ASAP. After, I would try to diagnose the issue and correct it. The white stuff looks kind of like mold- except it looks like it’s dried, somehow. 🧐

#### Cstarr replied on 2023-06-03

Gonna take it out today and see what’s under that soil. Yeah I was thinking mold too but it does appear very dry. Weird!

### stella ✨🌊⭐️ commented on 2023-06-04

i love kalanchoes \& calandivas! in my experience they really need to be repotted every so often because the soil gets decomposed and compacted around the plant's roots like concrete- a recipe for disaster (\& root rot!) If I were you, depending on how soft and easy to get off the plant's roots the soil is, I would try to shake all the old soil off the roots and repot in fresh well-draining soil. If it is not easy to get off and if the soil is like one solid mass then soak it. Once it is soft you can remove it all. When I did this once it took soaking and rinsing to get the old concretish soil off the roots. Good luck!!

#### Cstarr replied on 2023-06-04

Successfully repotted. Roots didn’t look too bad surprisingly! Watered throughly and keeping fingers crossed!

### Hannah commented on 2023-06-04

The white stuff could be a mineral buildup from being watered with tap water if it isn’t mold!

#### Cstarr replied on 2023-06-04

Ohhhh I didn’t think of that! Thanks!

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