August 15, share. Understanding Used Media The reason for this is that orchid potting media is composed of large, loose, chunky, natural materials such as orchid bark, sphagnum moss, tree fern and lava rock that provide the fast drainage and air circulation essential to the growth and maintenance of healthy Phalaenopsis orchid roots.
Options for Potting Mix Commercial potting mixes are easy to use and provide an ideal growing environment for orchids. How to Repot an Orchid After a generous watering, gently pull out orchid from its pot. If you do not know when it's time to repot, here are some instances: Your orchid has tightly tangled roots.
It's normal for Phalaenopsis orchids to have loosely tangled roots. It's been a while since you've repotted. Orchids need fresh potting mix every year or so.
Each type demands a little different potting mix. But both of them do not grow well in regular soil. Epiphytes need special potting mix orchid potting mix.
And what you should do to give it what it needs. What makes orchids different from other plants is their aerial root system. The aerial roots are different from normal roots. Such roots absorb nutrients and moisture from the air. Aerial roots are a natural survival mechanism, orchids developed to survive in the wild. Those are the orchids with aerial roots.
Because they need to be exposed to plenty of air. And humid, but not waterlogged environment; merchants produced a special potting mix for them. They do have a slight cooling effect, so if you live in a very cold climate, that might be something to take into consideration when using lava rocks as a potting medium.
Perlite is volcanic glass, that has been popped up like popcorn. They look like small sugar granules. They retain a lot of water and are very light-weight. They cannot decompose or compress, making them ideal to prevent compression in organic growing mediums.
Perlite can be re-used when boiled and sterilized. Leca is expanded clay pebbles and Seramis clay granules. Leca pebbles are often used in the bottom of an orchid potting medium, to ensure good drainage.
Seramis is a more recent invention, but they can be used in the same way than Leca. Even though there are plenty of ready orchid potting mixes available, you might want the control of deciding what exactly goes into the mix.
It might take some trial-and-error to find your perfect potting mix, but the process of it can be exciting and rewarding in the end. What you want to do when designing your potting media, is to balance organic and water-retentive media, with inorganic and porous elements.
You want to create an ebb-and-flow of water and oxygen through the potting media. Stagnant is bad. Organic media retains water and promotes beneficial bacteria and breakdown of fertilizers into usable compounds. Inorganic elements prevent the media from collapsing, promoting airflow even when the media starts to break down.
Pots must have holes in the bottom, to allow the excess water to come out. Otherwise, water would get trapped in the pot after watering, leaving the roots to stand in water, which is a sure way to kill your orchid.
Some orchid pots can have holes also on the sides, to ensure good airflow inside the pot. You can buy ready pots like this, or make extra holes yourself. Good pots for beginners are, without a doubt, clear plastic pots. This is because the clear plastic allows you to see inside the pot. This will allow you to tell the exact time to water your orchid again, which otherwise can be a bit of a guessing game.
Clear pots are also helpful to detect possible pest problems, and they allow you to check on some of the roots without having to unpot. Light-weight pots can be put inside decorative pots to make them steady. If your orchid media dries out too fast, a decorative pot will help by trapping humidity.
As mentioned above, there are several options to choose from — either to be used as a single potting medium or to be combined with others into one potting mix. Then follow these steps:. Once your orchid is settled in its new pot, you can keep caring for it like you normally did before. Make sure you have it in a spot that gets bright, indirect light, and water when the potting mix is just about to go dry. Some orchids can grow for one or two years before they need repotting again, so you can sit back and enjoy its beautiful blooms for a while before needing to repeat this process.
By Andrea Beck Updated April 06, Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Save Pin FB More. Credit: David Land. Credit: Carson Downing. Gently pull the orchid out of its pot by grasping it as close to the roots as possible; avoid pulling it out by a single leaf, which could break.
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