Pleated Miltoniopsis leaves

[Pokey49]

Question on repotting. Is it essential to remove old potting mixture from the roots before repotting. It's so easy to damage roots and I can never get the new mixture into the maze of the existing roots. This shows I am a neophyte to orchids I guess. Can't I just repot everything into larger pot with new medium

[silken]

Originally Posted by Pokey49

Question on repotting. Is it essential to remove old potting mixture from the roots before repotting. It's so easy to damage roots and I can never get the new mixture into the maze of the existing roots. This shows I am a neophyte to orchids I guess. Can't I just repot everything into larger pot with new medium

If you keep the old medium in the root ball, it will hold more moisture than the new and cause the root ball to rot. It sometimes takes some time and patience to carefully remove the old stuff, but do try and remove most of it. Gently work some new medium up into the centre, but often it will settle and work in after a few waterings and you can top up with a bit more at that point if you need it.

[Pokey49]

Ok I have repotted both plants. They were root bound for sure. I put them in a fine medium that includes perlite and sphagnum and I teased out as much old mix as I thought I should without tearing a bunch of roots into. I will be anxious to see how they do.