Re-Potting an Ocidium!

I got a beautiful Ocidium orchid for valentines day this year from my fiance. After the red flowers faded I thought I'd have to be patient and wait to re-pot. Well, right after I trimmed the spike it started to produce a new bulb! It's now quite large and what looks like a second one is in the works as well.

New bulb production is important when re-potting an Ocidium. Phaleanopsis orchids you re-pot after rest but not Ocidiums. They get re-potted when a new bulb is produced. You want to wait until the new bulb is a few inches tall. This one has taken off quite quickly, I find watching growth is just as fascinating as looking at the beautiful flowers.



I chose to plant this orchid in fine grade bark instead of coarse because Ocidium roots are thinner than other varieties. Other than my bark choice I followed my regular re-potting process. I have two posts on re-potting and one has a video as well. I also have a post on moss and bark but I prefer bark over moss.

I had really been hoping to re-pot my orchid into its original pot because I loved the color. Sadly the pot was way too big! When I gently removed my orchid from the pot, a good three inches of moss just fell off of the root mass. Which means that this pot was never the right size for my orchid. They had simply packed the bottom of the pot to bring the plant to the right height.

I looked around through my pots and found this one. It's not my favorite pot but it fit my orchid nicely. A lot of the pots you'll see in my photos are terracotta pots. I make designs in most of them with my rotary tool. I'll make a post on that eventually!

See how the bark level is right at the bottom of the bulbs? This is how an Ocidium should sit when you're done re-potting. You want the roots to be in the bark but just a tiny bit of the bulbs. If you have any questions on re-potting your Ocidium orchid or any other kind leave a comment below and I'll do my best to help!

~Happy Planting!