Rescued Phaleanopsis Orchid With Video On Re-Potting

Hello everyone, I'm posting my first video to this blog today. I thought a video of me actually re-potting instead of just pictures would be helpful. I was walking through a store yesterday when my fiance noticed this orchid in a clearance bin. I'm guessing this one fell over and out of its pot and they didn't know what to do with it.

So for $2.25 I have a nice healthy orchid that is going to produce beautiful white flowers for me in the future. 

Hard Water Stains On Orchids

I got some orchids for Christmas that had a lot of hard water stains on their leaves. At first I wanted to get rid of them for vanity reasons but orchid leaves need to be clean for health reasons too.

Most orchids require indirect sunlight and can become burned and damaged from too much direct sunlight. Their leaves are made to utilize all of the light they get. For this reason you want to be careful with store-bought leaf cleaners. Some store-bought cleaners will leave a layer of film on your orchid leaves. This can prevent orchids from absorbing enough light. I'm not saying that there aren't any good store-bought products, just read up on any you are looking to use.

How To Re-Pot An Orchid

I know the first time I went to re-pot my first orchid I was very nervous about the process. I read lots of articles, messaged my mother-in-law, and watched many YouTube videos. Now I've re-potted several orchids, but I remember the search for helpful information. I hope this post can help many nervous orchid parents. Feel free to ask questions in the comments or email me if I don't cover something you need help with.

A starting point for re-potting a Phalaenopsis orchid is its rest period. You don't want to re-pot an orchid if it is in bloom. If you've waited too long and it's gone into bloom again wait until it has gone back into rest. Re-potting when your orchid is using all of its energy for blooms can have a very damaging effect. See my other post on rest period and trimming after rest period for more information on those subjects. 

Okay, your orchid is in rest, now to pick out an appropriate pot and a medium. Orchids can be potted in moss or bark, but I prefer bark over moss. Bark drains better and makes it harder to over-water an orchid. Another problem I've run into with moss is that mold loves damp moss.

When To Re-Pot An Orchid

If you are on the fence about re-potting your orchid I hope this post helps. There are a few things to consider before uprooting an orchid: how long has your orchid been in its current planting medium and has the orchid become too cramped in its current pot size? These are both very important factors and both can have a damaging affect on an orchid.