Keeping the Green Thumb Busy...Re-potting Orchids

Until the weather warms up, and I can really start getting busy building more raised beds, and planting my garden, I will keep myself busy with planning, and my inside plants.

Many of you may already know, that I have a slight obsession with orchids. I currently have 12 orchid plants, of 3 different varieties.

Phalaenopsis

Oncidium

And Vanilla

All of these are MY plants that I have taken care of. One of  my vanilla orchids, pictured above in the yellow pot is now almost 12 inches tall now. And I have a Phalaenopsis that I bought for $1.00 on clearance at the grocery store after it had stopped blooming, that is growing a WILD new bloom stalk! I am excited to see what color the flowers are, and just how crazy it is going to go! 

The new bloom stalk on this 

orchid has 3 branches forming on it

I have had various plants bloom for me all winter, making me all the more eager for warm weather! I also went to the local conservatory to look at their orchid display, and it took everything I had to  leave with only pictures, and not buy another orchid plant in the gift shop! I am kind of running out of places to put them!

Yesterday I re-potted two of my phalaenopsis orchids...one is showing signs of dehydration (wrinkled leathery looking leaves) and the other looked like it was climbing out of the dirt with its new roots starting to grow. So I decided it was time to look at their roots and make sure all was OK...

How do you re-pot an orchid? Well, I will tell you what I do..

To prepare to re-pot my orchid-I recommend a nice clean spot on your counter...I occasionally put down a towel too, my bag of Orchid potting mix. A clean sink, trash can nearby, and this is VERY important...CLEAN scissors. As I trim the roots to the plant, clean scissors are a MUST. You do not want to get any contaminants into the root system, as these are your plants lifeline. And I try to only trim off dead or decaying roots, as if there are injured roots, the plant will try to concentrate on them instead of the rest of the plant. Remember:

Healthy roots = healthy plants

I run all of my scissors through the dishwasher on a regular basis.

Before re-potting a newly purchased plant
in the liner pot. I dislke the pots that orchids
come in from the store. I prefer ceramic orchid pots

Now, I begin by removing the plant from its pot and dispose of the dirt.  Notice in the picture how bound up the roots are? And in this particular case, there was standing water in the pot. This is a BAD thing. I've read plenty about caring for my orchids, and I know that they like well drained soil. Now-I use pots that do NOT have drain holes, so I am very careful not to water too often or too much. Don't worry-I an not a perfect person-I have gone back the next day to check my plants for any standing water in the base of the pot & occasionally, I have had to turn it over & drain it.

Notice the black shriveled roots?
These are not healthy roots.

After I gently remove the dirt from the roots, I inspect them for any rotting roots. I tend to run the cold water slowly in my sink & gently trim away any roots that look unhealthy. This particular plant, had quite a few that I trimmed under the running water until I only had healthy roots remaining. When I first got my orchids, I had read something about trimming any roots that were longer than 6-8" long, and occasionally I still do that, but apparently that is not a common practice, because as I continue to read about orchid care, I do not see anyone recommending this practice.

After I removed the dead and dying roots, this is what was
left. Be very gentle not to break the healthy roots.

Now I take my clean pot, and clean root orchid and I place a little bit of the soil into the bottom of the pot and hold the plant in place in the pot. I then gently pour the dirt over the top of the plant, tap the pot on the counter to allow the dirt to sift itself through the roots and settle gently, but not too tightly around them. Once that is done I water the plant again, not too much as it has probably already gained enough water for the day from trimming the roots under running water, just enough to help moisten the soil & if any settling occurs, add a little more soil to the top. The plant is now re-potted. Occasionally after a few waters, I will need to add a bit more dirt, but that is ok.

To me-this plant looks MUCH more
comfortable than it was before.

Now to water, and wait for the next bloom stalk to grow.