Repotting vanilla planifolia

[Chris147]

Okay so I called the woman who I bought it from and she told me that I could use the soil it's in, mix it with traditional bark and perilite, then repot it. Jenmonkey this is yet another question for you. My mom has some soil sitting outside In a bucket, could I use it? Thanks for all of your help. It seems to me like you care about helping other people succeed, and I apprecite that.

[jenmonkey]

Thanks so much, I'm still a total newbie about this stuff myself, so I very much appreciate all the help everyone here has given me for my orchids.

As far as the soil it comes in, if it looks like the plant is healthy and you have cleaned out all rotting/inorganic material from the roots and potting mix, then go ahead and try using it. The main reason we repot is to ensure that any viruses, bacteria, or pathogens in either the plant or the potting medium aren't allowed to propagate, and also to make sure the plant is placed in a suitable potting media for its environment. So, if the mix it was shipped in has enough organic material for the roots of your Vanilla and you're confident that it's not infected with anything that could harm your plant, go ahead and keep it in the mix!

I would shy away from soil just sitting around in a bucket for the above reasons - you never know what it's made of, what the pH is, what kinds of creepy crawlies are in it, etc. But the bark/soil/perlite mix sounds really good, and I'm sure your Vanilla will love it.

[CTB]

You need to get some African Violet mix, this is one of the few Orchids not treated as a normal orchid. It needs soil,, you can mix in some perlite for more air. Fertilize weekly, weakly. I am told it has to be 25 feet or more before it blooms, so enjoy the leaves for awhile., and give it something to climb on as needed.

[Chris147]

I sterilized the soil that I had outside, my mom told me it was new, but I didn't want to take any cahnces, so I threw it in the stove for 30 minutes. I added some of my orchid bark, and also some rooting hormone. I am using my bamboo stake that I bought at Lowe's. I hope the vanilla likes it. Here are some pics of the repotted vanilla.


Medium

Vanilla and stake

[jenmonkey]

Very nice Chris, I think your orchid is going to be very happy.

[mab3362]

Right or wrong, I have started 15-30 divisions in Miracle Grow potting soil and they take off!

[Chris147]

I think it likes it, so far so good. It doesn't seem to be showing any signs of not liking it, but I did only repot yesterday. I take it outside when I get up(squirrels will eat it if I leave it out overnight), along with 5 of my other orchids, and mist them. I mist periodically throughout the day. Thanks for all the help I have been given.

[jenmonkey]

HAHA! Chris, that's funny that the squirrels will eat it. My problem is the opposite - I have to keep my orchids in the bedroom upstairs to keep the predators from eating them when they're inside! And by predators, I mean my psychotic cat who eats anything that looks like it could be green and organic.

[Chris147]

All my cat does is rub up against my plants. I think she does it because she knows that is makes me mad. Well jenmonkey how long have you been into orchids?How long have you had your vanilla orchid? When you got it how big was it, and how big is it now? When you repotted your vanilla did it still grow while it was acclimating to it's new enviroment? Thanks.