Pets and Plants: How to Mend Messy Soil

So many House Plant Hobbyists – the admins included – are pet owners in addition to plant owners that we see a lot of questions about what to do when the worst occurs: Your pet has just decided, for whatever reason, to use your plant as their personal commode. Gross! But now what?

Photo credit: Tomathon on Visual hunt / CC BY-SA

Before we address how to treat your plant after such an unfortunate incident, we have a disclaimer: Please discuss incidents like this with your veterinarian. A pet suddenly choosing to go where it shouldn’t be going can be a sign of a medical problem and it’s better to be safe than sorry! Your vet may also be able to give you behavioral advice to help correct the issue, even if the problem isn’t a medical one.

Now, on to the plant. If Fluffy or Fido has decided that your plant is the perfect litter box or substitute for the great outdoors and peed in the pot, you have some options. Oh, and parents? These are the same options you’ve got when Junior decides to help water your plants, but chooses to do it with Mountain Dew as soon as your back is turned.

Flushing the soil

With smaller plants, it can be a simple matter of hauling it into the bathtub, washtub if you have one, or simply outside and flushing it thoroughly with water. This can benefit your plant by flushing out other elements that may have built up in the soil, since potted plants don’t often get this kind of deep cleaning.

Check the drainage holes in your pot and make sure they’re free of blockages, then go ahead and start pouring on the fresh water. Allow the plant to sit and drain for a few hours where it won’t cause problems, and then return it to its usual spot.

Even larger plants can be dragged into the shower – I once did this with a seven foot tall Fiddle Leaf Fig. It wasn’t easy, but it got the job done because I really didn’t want to go with option two in the middle of winter.

Repotting

Option two, of course, is repotting. If you think flushing just isn’t going to cut it, you can always repot. In fact sometimes this can be a blessing in disguise, allowing you to assess the health of your roots and adjust your potting mix. It has the added benefit of getting rid of any lingering scents that might encourage your pet to repeat the behavior. Toss your old, yucky soil in the bin and start fresh!

Even if you flush the soil, you might find that a few weeks later you will need to repot because your plant isn’t doing well and flushing hasn’t fixed the issue. Make sure you use a pot with adequate drainage if you’re swapping pots, and a potting mix with adequate drainage as well. (If you need some info on soil amendments, you can find it here.)

If you want more tips and advice from other plant lovers, check out HPH on Facebook to join our global community of plant people!