Tips for Repotting Orchids

Orchids repotting can be an intimidating part of owning and propagating orchids. However, it’s necessary if you want to have healthy, thriving plants that flower for years to come. Really, once you get the hang of it, repotting your orchids isn’t that hard at all. Here are some tips to make the entire process easier.

Select the right pot

Keep track of how long it takes your orchids to outgrow pots. It’s best if you buy the next pot with two years of growth in mind. This way, your plants don’t have to move as much, and you don’t have to deal with repotting.

Keep in mind when you’re buying pots, though, that you may split your plant each time you repot it. A healthy plant will have plenty of new bulbs and old growth so that it can be divided each time. You may not end up needing larger pots at all if you go in this direction with your repotting.

Prepare your work space

Spread newspaper on your work area before you repot your plants. The process of taking an orchid out of a pot and putting it into a new one can get pretty messy. Rather than simply dealing with the mess, you can actually use newspapers to catch most of it. When you’re done, simply roll them up and throw them away.

Avoid fungal and diseases

Clean every utensil you use before you start working on your plant. Fungal and viral diseases are super easy to spread between plants. To keep your delicate orchids from getting diseases of these sorts, clean all your utensils with rubbing alcohol or a ten percent bleach solution before you work with the plants. If you practice orchid repotting with more than one plant at a time, work with just one plant first, and then clean your utensils before moving to the other plant.

Prepare your pot

Keep your pots clean, too. It’s also vital that you clean your pots before repotting your orchids. You should wash plastic pots and used pots with a weak bleach solution. New clay pots should be allowed to soak and then dry out in the sun for a couple of days before you use them.

Also, since orchids need to drain well, you may use something like gravel in the bottom of your pots for drainage. Wash this thoroughly, too, with bleach and water solution. That way, there’s very little chance of a disease getting transferred to your plants.

Potting medium

Work with moist potting medium. For the most part, you’ll be working with a bark based potting medium, which is different from what you use with other houseplants. To get your medium ready for planting, pour boiling water over it and let it cool before you drain it. Again, this disinfects the medium, but it also helps it to be moist and easier to work with when you’re ready to repot your plant.

These tips will help make the orchids repotting process simpler and easier, so you don’t have to be intimidated by it anymore.