Orchid Repotting
Orchids in cultivation require regular repotting. An adult plant should be repotted on average every other year, or perhaps once a year, depending upon porri the type.
Most orchids will be happy in ordinary plastic pots; in fact, these are preferable to clay pots owing to the dry nature of the compost. Clay pots are useful for top-heavy plants, standing the plastic pot inside a slightly larger clay one. Those orchids which persist in making aerial roots can be treated differently; they can be put into hanging baskets, or wired onto a piece of cork bark. Cork bark is best because it takes a very long time to rot and because the roots can easily adhere to the rough surface.
Young plants in small pots will need to be potted or ‘dropped’ on into larger pots every six months or so, and this also should be done in spring and autumn. The summer growing and winter resting seasons are not good times to disturb orchids and should he avoided. Repotting becomes necessary when the plant has outgrown its pot, or preferably when it has just filled the pot. Sympodial orchids grow forward, producing each new pseudobulb or growth in front of the previous one.
The roots are separated by working the fingers into the base of the ball. Eventually, the ball will begin to loosen, and the roots can be eased out to their full length. All old compost will fall away as more and more roots come free. Many dead roots in the centre will just pull away. Some live roots will he broken during this process but they need in any case to be trimmed, so no harm is done. To remove the leafless backbulb take a sharp knife and sever the rhizome between the pseudobulbs, making a vertical cut, and taking care not to slice off the bottom of the pseudobulb.
The best material to suit their needs is therefore bark chippings, and although different growers favour different composts all are based on bark chippings, which on their own constitute an excellent compost for orchids. This bark is sold by orchid nurseries, and is usually graded pieces of scotch or similar pine, which is obtained from forest trees after felling. Other materials which can be added to the bark include Irish sphagnum peat. This will give a wetter compost and is of most use to the person who tends to underwater their plants.
Gravel or perlite are sometimes included to give an even more open mix which in turn will keep drier.
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