Before I repot...
 

In a few days I'm going to be repotting three of my orchids. One has a new growth almost growing outside the pot and the other two have some sort of green algae growing on the top. Two I bought mail order and one I bought in the store. None are in flower. I'm currently soaking my new medium in water and I am very excited but also a little scared because I have never repotted an orchid before. I was just wondering if there were any tips that anyone could help me with that maybe you can't really get out of a book? The orchids I'm repotting are:

Brassia Verrucosa: This is the one that I'm most worried about because it is the only orchid that I currenlty have that has roots growing outside of the pot. I have gotten some really good advice from very nice people on the OB so I'm confident, just a little worried. The new growth is growing almost sidewase out of the pot and it is a good inch above the medium. I was told before that this type of orchid is a little difficult to keep level in the pot but I'm hoping to kind of even it with the rest. If I can't then I'll just have to put it back in the best way that I can.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...r/IMG_2531.jpg

This next one is a Paphiopedilum and it has what appears to be some sort of algae growing on top of the medium. This would be cool if it were a fish tank but, well, it's obviously not. What also concerns me is that the growth on the right has a really bad lean in that direction. When I recieved it in the mail almost all of the potting material on that side was missing. Thank you orchids.com. They were kind enough to fill it with cotton balls. I put new medium in the hole but it is still leaning really bad and I don't think that it should be doing that. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...r/IMG_2528.jpg

The last one I do not know exactly what it is. Its flowers look like my profile picture but this is the one I bought in a store and It had no tag. It also has algae on top of the medium.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...r/IMG_2525.jpg

So any tips that you have would be greatly appreciated on any and/or all of the above. I have read a great deal about repotting and I have a few books but it has come to be my experience that the people on this site know a great deal more. Thank you so much in advance and I apoligize that this is so long.

soak the roots for 15-30 minutes. it makes them soft and manageable so that they don't break. the last one is an oncidium, but the paph and the oncidium don't look like they need repotting imo. When you are repotting, trim and dead roots: brown AND squishy- sometimes brown roots are still alive, just the outside is discolored from the age, as long as they are still firm. Soak the media overnight to open it up- i don't know if you should add some rooting hormone or not (i do, i add a little kln per gallon). After you trim the roots, spray with hydrogen peroxide (let it drip off- it turns back into water and can cause rot if left in the crown) this prevents/kills fungus. Make sure between each plant, you sterilize your tools to prevent trading germs. As for the algae... if watered appropriately, it will dry out on its own (from my experience) i think it is caused from growers trying to force the plant to grow and constantly water it. I'm not sure. Hope this helps!

They look pretty good to me just the way they are. Does the medium that they are in look broken down? If it does then by all means repot. Remember orchids don't like to be over potted, they like their roots in a small container but with enough room to produce new growth for a year or two. Put the oldest growth snug up against the edge of the pot so the new growth has room to grow. The alge is from being kept in a green house with high humidity. Also it's not a bad thing to have roots outside the pots, don't try to stick them into the medium. Good Luck. Brenda

My brassia has roots outside like that too. Unless there is a problem with rot or stale medium, you might want to leave it be. Mine doesn't care to be bothered often. The paph looks good to me too. It's okay if your orchids lean. The third one does look like an oncidium, and it appears to be in an appropriate size pot. Mine like to be pot-bound and totally fill the pot if able before decay sets to the medium. I would probably wait on all of them unless there is an urgent need.

The plant on the left is my brassia, happily growing some airborne roots. :waving