Hi everyone I’m very new to houseplants but an learning all the tine… I have these beautiful orchids which have finished flowering and would like advice about how to repot. Also can they do well in glass vases ? I have bought orchid potting bark, perlite etc but really want to try my best not to kill it-
Glass isn’t the best option for orchids since their roots like to have air. When you repot, soak it for a bit first so the roots are a little more flexible. Then just gently remove it and remove all the old soil from the roots. Put a little of your potting mix in the bottom of the pot and fill in around the orchid.
4 J'aimeBoth your orchids look a little dehydrated. If you repot into bark, I would definitely up your watering frequency. It will also help to cut your old flowers spikes off. Right now they are uselessly draining energy from the plant. MeasomerPi has given a lot of repotting advice on other posts below that are very thorough and very reliable.
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I am not a fan of water culture when it comes to my orchids. They want to dry out. I agree with Jen that they look thirsty because the dendrobium’s newer leaves are wrinkled and the phal is leathery looking. It might be getting a little too much sun? You can tell it is if the leaves have red edges. I see some buds in the Phal so it might not be finished blooming. But it is unusual for the open flowers to drop before all the buds open. I agree about cutting the inflorescences. That way it can devote all its energy back to root and leaf development which it really needs to do. Mestebla covered the important stuff about repotting. Just to add more detail… Typically, when you bring home a plant, they are in sphagnum that is tightly packed. That’s not a great setup for the home grower. Or those in bark, the media is beginning to break down. Generally, you’ll need to repot every 2-3 years or when the media is broken down. When you get ready to repot, soak it like Mestebla suggested. Take the orchid out of the pot and gently remove the media from the roots. Try get it all, but it’s fine if you have to leave some so you don’t damage the roots. And don’t worry if you damage some roots. It isn’t great but it happens. Just try to minimize as much as possible. Examine the roots for health and pests. Trim off any dead or dying roots. Dead roots are papery or mushy, black or brown. Healthy roots are firm and green when wet, silvery when dry. Deeper into the media you may encounter pale yellow roots. It just means they haven’t been exposed to light. They are fine as long as they are firm. I would leave any wrinkled roots as long as they are firm. Use an orchid pot with additional ventilation. They are typically clear so you can monitor root development, and have ventilation holes on the sides of the pot. If you don’t have one, you can add holes to a growers pot or any other plastic pot you have on hand. Size the pot so that the roots just fit in the pot. They like a tight fit. To minimize transplant shock, use a similar mix to what it currently is in. If your plant is in sphagnum, I would repot the phal using a mix of 50% sphagnum 50% bark. That will allow moisture to hang around long enough for the roots to take in what they want without cutting off air circulation. If you are a heavy waterer you can reduce the amount of sphagnum in your mix. My preference is straight bark. Dendrobiums like it dryer so I would back off the sphagnum to less than 25%, if any. The key for both is a loose airy mix that will allow the roots to dry between waterings. It’s also important to keep in mind you may not want to use the same size of orchid bark for both plants. The general rule is the thicker the root, the bigger the bark chip should be. The orchid bark (nat the mix with peat) you find at the box home improvement store is a good size for phals but too big for dendrobiums. You can look at specialty shops for a smaller bark size (that’s what I do) or mix in perlite. Regardless of the mix, gently work it around the roots. I use an old chopstick for the job. The goal is to firmly seat the plant in the pot without packing the media. You want an airy mix that allows the roots to grab the water they want and then dry out. Orchids like their water but the LOVE for their roots to dry out. Be sure to clean your tools between plants so that there is no cross contamination. When I water, I soak the pot for 10-15 minutes. Wait until the media dries out (look for silver roots) before watering again. For my setup, that works out to roughly once a week. Each time I water, I use fertilizer at 1/4 strength. Once a month flush with pure water to reduce salt buildup (this is especially important if you are using synthetic fertilizer). There are several channels on YouTube with information on orchid care, like Miss Orchid Girl, Here.. but Not, and Hello Plant Lovers. Miss Orchid Girl has informative videos going over repotting of both phals and dendrobiums. Good luck!
2 J'aimeThanks for all the great advice I will be sure to follow it !
2 J'aime