When should I re-pot my Pansy Orchid?
 

Hello all,

I am very new to this site and thanks to some wonderful people on this site already I have Identified one of my orchids as a Pansy Orchid. It is new and from the local Fred Meyer store. I know that it is probably still under a lot of stress. However, I am wondering when the best time to put some new medium in with my plant, and put it in a new pot.

I attatched some pictures of what the roots currently look like, I felt the medium as well and even my family members who were in the kitchen with me said they felt bone dry. should I water before or after I repot if it needs to be done?

Thanks all

I think it needs to be repotted, but put it back into the same size pot or in a pot that's only 1/2" larger.

The media is starting to look like it's degrading. I see some dirt-like debris from the medium.

Then water afterwards.

I recommend that you repot when you see the beginnings of new roots forming at the bases of new growths,

Soak the plant, remove as much of the old medium as you can without totally destroying the root system, and repot with fresh mix.

Thank you all. I will try to find a good Medium to pot this in, and Hopefully have them potted by the end of the weekend. :) any good suggestions on finding a good premade Orchid Medium?

If you want to do it by this weekend a local source is faster, although the internet will giver you a broader selection.

The Better-Gro mixes are pretty good. The local Home Depot and Lowes here all carry the Special Orchid Mix (a general purpose mix). The bigger ones also carry their Phalenopsis Mix (looks about the same, but with some sphagnum mixed in to keep it wetter),and their Orchid Bark (if you want to go purew bark or add some to make one of the others a bit drier).

Many large garden centers also carry orchid supplies. If they have someone you can talk to who is knowledgeable, they can frequently guide you. The most important thing is to pick a mix that works for how you will care for your orchid. People with a tendency to overwater should use a drier mix (more bark, less moss or even LECA or rock). Those who forget to water or don't want to mess with checking how dry the interior of the medium is probably do better with a wetter mix (more moss or even straight moss). I personally kill everything I plant in moss, but others do well with it, so it is really dependent on your habits.

I agree with the comments above about the condition of your medium and that you should repot as soon as you have new growth. Be careful with your watering now because your medium looks like it is pretty well broken down and retaining a lot of moisture. If you start to see signs of rot, don't wait - repot.

I really don't recommend moss with Miltoniopsis (aka "Pansy Orchids"). The roots rot real fast in moss.

Small grade or medium grade bark mix is perfect.

I have 7 (or is it 8) miltoniopsis and most of them are in sphagnum moss with a bit of perlite to add a bit of air spaces. They are thriving in it. 2 places I have ordered the plants from also grow them that way. The other ones came from another supplier in small to medium bark mixed with moss and a bit of perlite. One thing I notice with miltoniopsis is they do not like old potting media so it needs to be replaced usually every year. I just make sure the moss potted ones get good air movement and are almost dry before I water again. I don't let them stand in water but just run it thru.

The above comments really point out how important it is to know your own conditions and habits.

Some of us love moss, others are fearful of it.

All of us learn from the comments here, but we have to remember to put them into our own context.

Ducky also posted this orchid earlier looking for an ID, and we came to the conclusion that although it looks very similar to a miltonopsis, it's not. Seems to be preobably a Beallara. Would link the thread here, but I really need to get to bed before I fall asleep over the keyboard!

I agree that your plants probably ought to be repotted but if they were mine, I would wait until after the blooms died off and new root growth has started. Untill then, I would keep them moist but not wet in bright indirect light. Repotting is a bit stressful and you will probably lose your blooms pretty quickly.
Joann