Repotting Orchids

In the fall of 2008 we went to an orchid show at the Milwaukee Domes. At that time I purchased a set of two different phalenopsis varieties planted together in one pot. One had dark speckled blooms and the other a lighter and more familiar purple color. I never put them in a real pot and never really did anything to help them prosper like feeding or even really enough misting.

I did put them in the windows in cool weather to try and spur blooming and I'd cut off the blooms with a razor blade as is recommended. So, given my minimal effort it was no surprise to me really that they never bloomed again. In fact, I saw it as a blessing that I hadn't killed them because these plants are supposed to be notoriously finicky. I never found them to be that way.

Early this spring one of them shot up a stalk of blooms that lasted for a couple of months and finally just wilted. After the blooms kicked it the plants started to look really sad with some leaves turning yellow and just looking kind of deathly in general. Over the last year huge sections of roots had also started to spring out of the pot on all sides.

This weekend I finally got up the gumption to buy two separate pots and split them up into their own new homes. At the store I had picked up two pretty large pots when the plant lady told me that they'd never work because orchids like to be root-bound in tight, tall pots. I picked out two smaller ones instead. I also bought the special aerated orchid mix which you need to soak overnight for best results. Last night I did that and today I was ready to go.

Everything I read called for removing the current potting mix, trimming long roots down to six inches with a shear that you've cleaned with isoprophyl alcohol, placing them in the middle of a new pot and then filling in with pre-soaked orchid mix.


Pulling the plants out of the old mix and separating them. You can see from this picture just how root-bound those suckers had become.


I had a sense that one of the plants was choking out the other from how they'd been growing. I see after pulling them apart that I was wrong about which plant didn't have enough spaces. I was a-MAZED at how long the root structure had become. Probably over a foot of root complex for the larger plant. I snipped them down to six inches and was ready to put them in their new pots.


I picked out two pots that don't have drainage holes, which means that I am going to have to be extra careful with watering. Once you pour water through orchid mix it instantly drains out, leaving behind wet bark. They hate to sit in water, which means that every time I water I will have to tip them over and drain everything out completely. This choice was directly related to vanity, as all of the pots with drainage are super ugly. We'll see how it goes. You can see all of the other little supplies in the background.


New orchid home #1. This is the little guy that was suffering in the previous space sharing agreement. This pot looks like a knobby stump. Ry thinks it's ugly. I do too, but I also like it. Kind of kitschy cool, but also maybe just ugly. I'm alright with it.


New orchid home #2. This is the one that was large and in charge. I'm hoping this pot is big enough. The roots took up most of the space and I'm hoping that the woman was right about how they like a tight fit.