Organic Vegetable Gardening

Repotting Orchids – Basics Steps to Repotting Orchids Properly

First of all, we recommend that you get the new pot you are going to put your orchid in ready. If you are using an old pot, soak it in a mixture of water and a little bleach, rinse it, and give it a few days to let it dry out completely. If you are using a new pot, just soak it in water for a couple of minutes.

After this is finished, continue to prepare the pot by putting a generous layer of plastic foam peanuts at the bottom of the pot. This will help the orchid get the drainage it needs to thrive. Go ahead and wet your potting mix with boiling water and allow the soil to cool before putting it in the pot.

Once you are ready, unpot the orchid by turning the plant upside down and gently thumping the sides of the pot. It is common for the roots to stick to the pot in places, but you can use a butter knife to get them loose. Try to be careful, but it is not a huge deal if you accidentally damage the roots a little.

Give your plant a gentle shake to loosen and drop off the dirt attached to the roots. Often some clumps will stay behind. Don’t worry about that – just be gentle and careful with your orchid while you are repotting it.

Next, trim the plant of dead and rotting roots. Healthy roots are white and firm, white dead or damaged roots are mushy and brownish in color. After this, place the orchid in the pot.

You will want to put the orchid to the side of the pot with the new growth facing outward, pointing towards the part of the pot that only has dirt in it. This will give your orchid room to grow.

If your orchid is growing in all directions, just place your orchid in the middle of the new pot. When adding new potting soil, you want it to be placed firmly and solidly around the roots of your orchid. It is also important that no roots are showing – they should be completely covered.

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