Yes, removing the old soil is best for the most part. Depends on the plant somewhat in terms of how picky the plant might be about losing roots, but for the most part I find it's not a huge deal to do what you have to do to get off the old soil and, long-term, it's usually beneficial to the root system. The bad soil does a number on the roots of a lot of plants and sometimes leaves them with roots that are half-dead or even almost nonexistent anyway. I use a small utensil of some kind or my fingers to work through the soil and remove as much of it as I can. But yes, the plants can be a little tough to get to stand up before a lot of roots have grown back in. I use rocks to hold up the stem while the plant settles in.

This post was edited by teatree on Sat, Apr 20, 13 at 0:31

Nicely explained Teatree, I do very much the same for my plants.

I often use my fingers to crumble off mix when dry, snapping off any dead, dry roots I might find. If the mix is really stuck on there, I too use a tool of some sort, a mini-rake or a small fork to comb through the roots.

I also use rocks or other tiny clay pots (upside down in larger pots) to prop plants into place until they root.

OK so I tried a little bigger plant this morning. it's a Kalanchoe I bought yesterday. I let the whole root ball soil and all sit out of the pot over night (was pretty wet). This morning I pulled most of the soil off by hand then remembered reading about the bonsai guys using an old chop stick to work roots. I just poked at compacted soil till it fell out. I got about 85 or 90 percent of the soil like that. Then I soaked the remaining roots in luke warm water (about 15 minutes) and did the same process under running water to get the rest off. Now its propped up drying out a little bit waiting for its new home full of gritty mix. Roots look pretty good and it looks like I may have an off set getting ready to start life. Sound like I'm on the right track?

I would have skipped the rinsing myself, I just don't do that, not for succulents.

Maybe I should qualify that by saying I grow indoors only, so I don't have a possibility of hosing off the roots as some folks like to do.

Since I live in the Northeast & winters get cold, I feel the risk of rinsing off roots & risking a colder weather change is more than the risk of any small amount of residual old mix on the plant. I repot some things year round, so I have to remember that.

I guess this applies to me since I usually have to change the mix of most plants I buy too.