Re Potting an Orchid Plant
excerpted from Better Homes and Gardens
Exotic Allure
Dazzling orchids are an exotic delight that create a luxurious way to celebrate your day. And, best of all, they are easy to grow!
To thrive in your home, orchids require the same kind of attention you give your other plants, but watering is most important. With some exceptions, keep the potting medium
moist but don't let the plants sit in water. This generally entails watering once a week. When growing cattleyas, allow the potting medium (porous ground bark) to dry out
between waterings.
Occasionally mist the air around the plants to increase humidity. Or, set pots in a pebble-lined tray filled with water to just below the bottom of the pots. When the plants are in
active growth (producing roots, stems, and flowers), feed them weekly with a water-soluble orchid fertilizer. When the plants settle into a resting period and don't grow, fertilize
every other week. re pot as needed according to Potting an Orchid.
A bit of natural history
In their native tropical habitats, orchids often grow on tree trunks and limbs. As epiphytes, these plants take moisture and nutrients from the air around them, not from soil.
Indoors, they grow best in a loose, porous medium, such as pine bark, or a mix formulated for orchids. Such mixes may include bark, sphagnum moss, and charcoal.
Potting an Orchid
Light: Medium-high, Time: 1 hour, Skill: Moderate
What you need
Pot, Pine bark or soil, depending on orchid, Pebbles (optional), Dowel or stake
Great orchids for beginners
Ascocenda, Cattleya alliance, Dendrobium, Epidendrum, Jewel, Lady's slipper, Masdevallia, Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis), Oncidium, Cattleya
Instructions
1. Timing: Re pot your orchid when the roots become crowded and grow over the edge of the pot or when the medium breaks down, usually every three years. Re pot in warm
weather when the plant finishes blooming and new roots are forming.
2. Preparation: Soak the new potting medium (pine bark or soil) in water overnight. If the old medium is dry, water it well because it's easier to remove from the roots when
moist. Un pot the plant, remove potting medium, and trim any dead or damaged roots.
3. Potting: If desired, place a layer of pebbles in the bottom of the pot. Set the orchid in the pot; place those with horizontal stems (rhizomes), such as cattleyas, so the rhizome
sits 1 inch below the rim. Fill the pot with the medium.
4. Finishing: Work the medium around the roots and pack it down firmly until the plant seems stable. Make sure rhizomes (if present) remain at or near the surface. If you
need to stake the plant for stability, do it now with a dowel or similar device.
excerpted from Better Homes and Gardens
Exotic Allure
Dazzling orchids are an exotic delight that create a luxurious way to celebrate your day. And, best of all, they are easy to grow!
To thrive in your home, orchids require the same kind of attention you give your other plants, but watering is most important. With some exceptions, keep the potting medium
moist but don't let the plants sit in water. This generally entails watering once a week. When growing cattleyas, allow the potting medium (porous ground bark) to dry out
between waterings.
Occasionally mist the air around the plants to increase humidity. Or, set pots in a pebble-lined tray filled with water to just below the bottom of the pots. When the plants are in
active growth (producing roots, stems, and flowers), feed them weekly with a water-soluble orchid fertilizer. When the plants settle into a resting period and don't grow, fertilize
every other week. re pot as needed according to Potting an Orchid.
A bit of natural history
In their native tropical habitats, orchids often grow on tree trunks and limbs. As epiphytes, these plants take moisture and nutrients from the air around them, not from soil.
Indoors, they grow best in a loose, porous medium, such as pine bark, or a mix formulated for orchids. Such mixes may include bark, sphagnum moss, and charcoal.
Potting an Orchid
Light: Medium-high, Time: 1 hour, Skill: Moderate
What you need
Pot, Pine bark or soil, depending on orchid, Pebbles (optional), Dowel or stake
Great orchids for beginners
Ascocenda, Cattleya alliance, Dendrobium, Epidendrum, Jewel, Lady's slipper, Masdevallia, Moth orchids (Phalaenopsis), Oncidium, Cattleya
Instructions
1. Timing: Re pot your orchid when the roots become crowded and grow over the edge of the pot or when the medium breaks down, usually every three years. Re pot in warm
weather when the plant finishes blooming and new roots are forming.
2. Preparation: Soak the new potting medium (pine bark or soil) in water overnight. If the old medium is dry, water it well because it's easier to remove from the roots when
moist. Un pot the plant, remove potting medium, and trim any dead or damaged roots.
3. Potting: If desired, place a layer of pebbles in the bottom of the pot. Set the orchid in the pot; place those with horizontal stems (rhizomes), such as cattleyas, so the rhizome
sits 1 inch below the rim. Fill the pot with the medium.
4. Finishing: Work the medium around the roots and pack it down firmly until the plant seems stable. Make sure rhizomes (if present) remain at or near the surface. If you
need to stake the plant for stability, do it now with a dowel or similar device.
Phalenopsis Orchid Care Instructions (General care instructions for any orchid plant from our florist)
fail-eh-NOP-sis •
Phalaenopsis, the moth orchid, is perhaps the best orchid for growing in the home, and is also a favorite with greenhouse growers. Well-grown plants can flower often,
sometimes with a few flowers throughout the year, though the main season is late winter into spring. Average home temperatures and conditions are usually sufficient.
Flower stems on certain hybrids can be forced to re-bloom by cutting the tip off after the initial flowering. Only healthy plants should be induced to flower repeatedly. Culture
for Doritis, a related genus, thought by some to be nonspecific with Phalaenopsis, and Doritaeiwpsis, a hybrid between the two genera, is the same as for pure
Phalaenopsis.
LIGHT is easy to provide for phalaenopsis. They grow easily in a bright window, with little or no sun. An east window is ideal in the home; shaded south or west windows are
acceptable. In overcast, northern winter climates, a full south exposure may be needed. Artificial lighting can easily be provided. Four fluorescent tubes in one fixture
supplemented by incandescent bulbs are placed 6 to 12 inches above the leaves, 12 to 16 hours a day, following natural day length. In a greenhouse, shade must be given;
70 to 85 percent shade, or between 1,000 and 1,500 foot-candles, is recommended. No shadow should be seen if you hold your hand one foot above a plant's leaves.
TEMPERATURES for phalaenopsis should usually be above 60 F at night, and range between 75 and 85 F or more during the day. Although higher temperatures force faster
vegetative growth, higher humidity and air movement must accompany higher temperatures, the recommended maximum
being 90 to 95 F. Night temperatures to 55 are desirable for several weeks in the autumn to initiate flower spikes. Fluctuating temperatures can cause bud drop on plants
with buds ready to open.
WAT E R is especially critical for phalaenopsis. Because they have no major water-storage organs other than their leaves, they must never completely dry out. Plants should
be thoroughly watered and not watered again until nearly dry. In the heat of summer in a dry climate, this may be every other day; in the winter in a cool northern greenhouse,
it may be every 10 days. Water only in the morning, so that the leaves dry by nightfall, to prevent rot.
HUMIDITY is important to phalaenopsis, the recommended humidity being between 50 and 80 percent. In humid climates, as in greenhouses, it is imperative that the humid
air is moving. Leaves should be dry as soon as possible, always by nightfall. In the home, set the plants on trays of gravel, partially filled with water, so that the pots never sit
in water.
FERTILIZE on a regular schedule, especially if the weather is warm, when the plants are most often growing. Twice-a- month applications of high-nitrogen fertilizer (such as
30-10-10) are appropriate where bark-based media are used. Other- wise, a balanced fertilizer is best. When flowering is desired, a high-phosphorus fertilizer (such as 10-
30-20) can be applied to promote blooming. Some growers apply fertilizer at one-quarter strength with every watering; this is best for warm, humid conditions. When cooler,
or under overcast conditions, fertilizer should be applied twice per month at weak strength.
POTTING is best done in the spring, immediately after flowering. Phalaenopsis plants must be potted in a porous mix. Potting is usually done every one to three years.
Mature plants can grow in the same container until the potting medium starts to decompose, usually in two years. Root rot occurs if plants are left in a soggy medium.
Seedlings usually grow fast enough to need re potting yearly, and should be re potted in a fine-grade medium. Mature plants are potted in a medium-grade mix. To re pot,
remove all the old medium from the roots, trim soft, rotted roots, and spread the remaining roots over a handful of medium in the bottom of a new pot. Fill the rest of the pot
with medium, working it among the roots, so that the junction of the roots and the stem is at the top of the medium.
The American Orchid Society is the world's leading provider of information about and related to orchids. We invite you to join us and learn about the world's most fascinating
flowers and plants. Your membership entitles you to our monthly award-winning magazine Orchids, a free copy of our cultural book Your First Orchid and the AOS Almanac, a
10 percent discount on items purchased through The AOS Book Shop, and access to the largest pool of orchid experts ever assembled. All this and much more can be
yours as a member of the AOS.
American Orchid Society http://orchidweb.org
6000 South Olive Avenue West Palm Beach, Florida 33405-4199
561-585-8666
Fax 561-585-0654
Prepared by the AOS Education Committee
fail-eh-NOP-sis •
Phalaenopsis, the moth orchid, is perhaps the best orchid for growing in the home, and is also a favorite with greenhouse growers. Well-grown plants can flower often,
sometimes with a few flowers throughout the year, though the main season is late winter into spring. Average home temperatures and conditions are usually sufficient.
Flower stems on certain hybrids can be forced to re-bloom by cutting the tip off after the initial flowering. Only healthy plants should be induced to flower repeatedly. Culture
for Doritis, a related genus, thought by some to be nonspecific with Phalaenopsis, and Doritaeiwpsis, a hybrid between the two genera, is the same as for pure
Phalaenopsis.
LIGHT is easy to provide for phalaenopsis. They grow easily in a bright window, with little or no sun. An east window is ideal in the home; shaded south or west windows are
acceptable. In overcast, northern winter climates, a full south exposure may be needed. Artificial lighting can easily be provided. Four fluorescent tubes in one fixture
supplemented by incandescent bulbs are placed 6 to 12 inches above the leaves, 12 to 16 hours a day, following natural day length. In a greenhouse, shade must be given;
70 to 85 percent shade, or between 1,000 and 1,500 foot-candles, is recommended. No shadow should be seen if you hold your hand one foot above a plant's leaves.
TEMPERATURES for phalaenopsis should usually be above 60 F at night, and range between 75 and 85 F or more during the day. Although higher temperatures force faster
vegetative growth, higher humidity and air movement must accompany higher temperatures, the recommended maximum
being 90 to 95 F. Night temperatures to 55 are desirable for several weeks in the autumn to initiate flower spikes. Fluctuating temperatures can cause bud drop on plants
with buds ready to open.
WAT E R is especially critical for phalaenopsis. Because they have no major water-storage organs other than their leaves, they must never completely dry out. Plants should
be thoroughly watered and not watered again until nearly dry. In the heat of summer in a dry climate, this may be every other day; in the winter in a cool northern greenhouse,
it may be every 10 days. Water only in the morning, so that the leaves dry by nightfall, to prevent rot.
HUMIDITY is important to phalaenopsis, the recommended humidity being between 50 and 80 percent. In humid climates, as in greenhouses, it is imperative that the humid
air is moving. Leaves should be dry as soon as possible, always by nightfall. In the home, set the plants on trays of gravel, partially filled with water, so that the pots never sit
in water.
FERTILIZE on a regular schedule, especially if the weather is warm, when the plants are most often growing. Twice-a- month applications of high-nitrogen fertilizer (such as
30-10-10) are appropriate where bark-based media are used. Other- wise, a balanced fertilizer is best. When flowering is desired, a high-phosphorus fertilizer (such as 10-
30-20) can be applied to promote blooming. Some growers apply fertilizer at one-quarter strength with every watering; this is best for warm, humid conditions. When cooler,
or under overcast conditions, fertilizer should be applied twice per month at weak strength.
POTTING is best done in the spring, immediately after flowering. Phalaenopsis plants must be potted in a porous mix. Potting is usually done every one to three years.
Mature plants can grow in the same container until the potting medium starts to decompose, usually in two years. Root rot occurs if plants are left in a soggy medium.
Seedlings usually grow fast enough to need re potting yearly, and should be re potted in a fine-grade medium. Mature plants are potted in a medium-grade mix. To re pot,
remove all the old medium from the roots, trim soft, rotted roots, and spread the remaining roots over a handful of medium in the bottom of a new pot. Fill the rest of the pot
with medium, working it among the roots, so that the junction of the roots and the stem is at the top of the medium.
The American Orchid Society is the world's leading provider of information about and related to orchids. We invite you to join us and learn about the world's most fascinating
flowers and plants. Your membership entitles you to our monthly award-winning magazine Orchids, a free copy of our cultural book Your First Orchid and the AOS Almanac, a
10 percent discount on items purchased through The AOS Book Shop, and access to the largest pool of orchid experts ever assembled. All this and much more can be
yours as a member of the AOS.
American Orchid Society http://orchidweb.org
6000 South Olive Avenue West Palm Beach, Florida 33405-4199
561-585-8666
Fax 561-585-0654
Prepared by the AOS Education Committee
