Repotting an Orchid

[schmavo]

Hi all

I just have the one orchid which has been with me for 3 or 4 years and is quite healthy.

It's gotten straggly with a lot of air roots coming out of the container and I am wondering whether I simply trim these off and/or should repot the plant into a larger container.

I assume it will need a new pot because its grown larger but not sure how to handle the large amount of air roots.

AND when I should I repot it - just after its flowered, can I do it when its flowering...? Advice would be appreciated

And I assume I just use some of that fibrous potting material it is already in.

Have popped a picture below so you can see it.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

Dave

[Roberta]

If it has been in the same pot for 3 or 4 years, it needs repotting... it grew those air roots because the environment in the pot was probably too wet . The vase looks like it has no drainage at all. Phalaeonopsis are "air plants" by nature, and clearly this one is getting enough moisture to still thrive. (If you just put a bit of water in the vase, you were actually giving it a nice airy environment above the wet area - and that's where it put the roots)

First, those air roots are the good ones! Absolutely don't cut them! Then, find a well-drained pot for repotting, a bit larger than the one that you have but not too much bigger. After unpotting, you can soak those air roots in water for an hour or two, which will soften them and make them more pliable. Then you can direct at least some of them into the new pot, twisting the plant to wind the roots around.. sort of screw it into the new pot. If some of the air roots don't fit, don't worry... Air roots are quite natural. I'd suggest medium bark (rather than spaghnum) so that the new environment for those roots is very airy - Orchids in general, and Phalaenopsis in particular, want "humid air" rather than "wet" around the roots.

Phals do just fine getting potted while they are in bloom - if that is the case, just be careful not to knock the flowers around. Also, unlike many other orchids, Phals are pretty much always growing and rooting, so can be potted at any time.