subject: Know When To Repot Your Orchhids [print this page] Know When To Repot Your Orchhids Know When To Repot Your Orchhids
For orchids to maintain good health and continued growth, repotting them correctly is essential. In here I want to discuss the importance of this and give you some very useful advice that will keep your orchids blooming for years to come.
Its shown that orchids decline in health when sitting in the same medium for long amounts of time, showing decay while compacting and smothering the roots. When it comes time to repot, it varies with the type of orchid and the medium used. Orchids should be repotted regularly and variety's such as Paphiopedilums and Phalaenopsis benefit with more frequent repotting.
Lets look at some considerations to help you in choosing to repot your orchids.
When you get a new orchid, you'll find many growers like to repot when the time is right. An example of this is waiting till the plant has gone out of bloom if the orchid you bought was in bloom. This helps as the orchid can be repotted in a medium that's in harmony with your other orchids in the garden. Also have a chance and look at the plants roots as this will give you a better picture of the orchids health. Sometimes you see orchids for sale in large sized pots and that they actually should be in smaller ones.
If you have an orchid already, the best time to repot is after the orchid has bloomed and is beginning to start its new growth cycle. You can see this when they produce a new leaf, new roots, or a even a pseudobulb. Also, when this new growth cycle starts we can look at whether the orchid will need to be repotted before this time comes again.
You should repot the your orchid if you see plant growth for the next cycle climbing over and out the pot. This shows when you see orchid roots that grow outside the pot, being damaged or broken or even attach themselves to the pot or other pots near them. To prevent or control this growth, you can repot and reposition the orchid which then allows the orchid to to grow for a year or more before they start climbing out again.
Another time when repotting may be needed is if an orchid has been affected or infested by bugs and insects. You can bet that if its occurring more and more, the bugs have moved in underground and are eating the roots within the media. A good way to start on this is to remove all the old potting mix, take your time cleaning and observing the roots and then repot with a new batch of mix to eliminate any pest problems.
What happens when you notice your orchids health is declining? One thing is to remove the orchid out of its pot and see how the roots are holding up. If indeed it looks like the plant's health is declining then the roots themselves are likely getting smaller and the pot itself maybe too big for the orchid. We can sometimes think that repotting the orchid can put more stress on the plant but maybe not repotting the plant may cause even more stress.
Having experience and a wise head will help as the its not always clear with a declining plant. You can increase the light the orchid receives as this can bring on new spurts of life and then we can move into repotting. This is beneficial as we know that the roots most probably were rotted. With that in mind, replacing the mix the with fresh medium and reducing the the pot size will bring back the orchid to a healthy state.
Be sure to see which medium you follow for your orchid type and always keep an eye for how well your orchid is looking throughout the year.
