Repotting a Phalaenopsis

[brookn]

The first thing I do when preparing to repot is to gather my supplies and tools. Potting medium, scissors/razor blade, a knife, cinnamon, peroxide, a collander (to drain medium), a large bowl, a lighter/torch, and a couple different sizes of pots. If I am potting with bark, I will soak it in hot water with some dish soap for at least 6 hours or more before potting. I then rinse the bark thoroughly.

Plant before removal from pot:



Carefully remove the plant from the pot. With a plastic pot I gently squeeze the pot until it is loosened, and pull the plant from the pot. With ceramic or clay, I gently run a clean knife around the inside of the pot to loosen the roots. If using the knife to loosen the roots doesn't work, I wrap the pot in a towel, and break it with a hammer. If there is an old spike attached, I leave it on the plant, and use it like a handle to hold the plant.



I then put the plant in a large bowl and fill the bowl with tepid water, and 3 drops of Superthrive.



After the plant has soaked for about 20 min. or more, I begin to loosen the medium from between the roots while the plant is still in the water. When I feel I have gotten enough of the medium out, I strain the water into a collander, and throw away the old medium.



I then tease all of the old medium out that I can with my hands, or by rinsing with the sprayer.

[brookn]

I then sit down with tweezers, and scissors. I remove the old medium, and any mushy or dead roots.



I soak the plant and roots again to clean out anything I have missed. Then I soak with peroxide if there is a concern with rot, followed by cinnamon on the cut ends. I get the pot that the plant will be in, and check to see how the plant fits down into the pot. I then take the pot and fill the bottom with styrofoam peanuts.



I top that with a layer of the medium that I am going to use.



I then hold the plant in the pot, and begin to pour the medium in, shaking and tapping the pot to settle it in.



After the plant is potted, I water the medium to let it settle, and add more to the top if needed. This is also a good time to remove the spent spike. The finished product:

[butt0n]

Lovely step-by-step process!

[neworchidlover]

Hello Brookn!

Wow, such great pictures!! I feel as though I watched a re-potting video

How did you pick which medium to use. If she first had sphag should one stick with sphag, or would it be ok to switch to fir bark without a problem?

[butt0n]

Originally Posted by neworchidlover

How did you pick which medium to use. If she first had sphag should one stick with sphag, or would it be ok to switch to fir bark without a problem?

It really depends...your climate, if you're able to control the wetness of the sphag etc. and preference. Some people hate using sphag for Phals and others have success with it. Most people use a bark mix for phals for the drainage; you just have to water a bit more. I use a coir mix myself and have loved the change; it retains enough water, but not too much and I don't have to water as often. My phals love it!

[neworchidlover]

Hmmm, what is coir mix? This sounds a bit complicated and likely something I would have to order. Would you know where I could order it or explain a bit more?

When sterelizing tools, is there a certain ratio of bleach to alcohol to use? And how should I sterlize the pot? Can I just use the bleach/alcohol mix?

Almost time for my repot....yikes!!

[brookn]

Hi, I use sphag for Phals that go into pots under 6". This plant went into a 6" pot, so I used my bark mix. I was hoping to put it into a 4" pot again with sphag, it would not fit, and I only had a 6", and the roots went to the bottom of the pot. So the pot was a little big, but not by much. I edited this a bit, because when I posted this a.m., I was in a rush to get to work. I think I have covered everything now. I will add potting a Phal into sphag to it, or make another post when I repot another Phal that I know is going into sphag, in a couple of weeks.

Coir is coconut fiber.
I would think that alcohol or bleach would work fine for sterilization. I use soapy water to clean my blades, and use a lighter to then heat them.

[janet_a]

excellent posts!

[Ron]

Hi Brook
I love the way you explained it by the step-by-step process!

Very well done, glad I do not work for you.( i 'd get the sack!)
I just rip them out of the pot, shake off all the old mix. strip and clean up the roots and shove it into the next size pot.

I am going to re-pot my Phallies from bark mix to the coco nuggets this year to give them a bit more moisture and cut down on the watering.
Thanks again for the wonderful photos.
Cheerio
Ron

[fred]

Thank you very much brookn for taking the time to show us the step by step procedure that you use for Repotting a Phalaenopsis
I am sure many members will benefit from your thread
this thread has also be made "Sticky"

[butt0n]

Phal Repotting & Media Look here for more information about coir.

[brookn]

Thanks Fred!

Button and Janet thanks as well.

Ron that's funny. It's easy to be a bit compulsive when you don't have a lot of plants. When I have the number of plants that you have I'll probably do the same thing.

[Ron]

Hi Brookn.
One of the reason I originally joined the Orchid Geeks was to see how others grew and repotted their orchids.
Especially Phallie's as I only started to grow them in the last couple of years.
I enjoyed your photos so much, been in the orchid house all day watering and fertilizing.
Gave you method a big think about and it certinally got me thinking
Many thanks for the info.
Cheerio
Ron

[neworchidlover]

There is a new posting called "Calling all Phal Experts", with pictures of my phal after her repot!

It looks like the infection has spread to the crown, but I can't tell how bad it is.Or what the infection is?? I guess it might not be crown rot, because it didn't start from the top down?

If it's very bad please let me know so I can prepare...

Yikes! Calling all Orchid Geek doctors for their diagnosis!!

(link below, I couldn't figure out how to do the hyper link!)
http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/general-chat/8675-calling-all-phal-experts.html

[Brooke]

What a great tutorial - your pictures and written description are concise and to the point without too much verbage. Great job!

Brooke

[glossterline]

That is a wonderful tutorial and very helpful.

Having seen the comments of other readers, I was wondering about changing the potting medium for my Phals. The shop-sold bark medium that I bought tends to dry very quickly and maybe sphagnum would be better in my house. If I used moss when I next pot, how would I recognise if the plants were not so happy? Or, is it better to stick with the bark and just water often?

Thanks,

Les

[brookn]

Hi, it sounds like your bark is not retaining enough moisture, was it soaked before using it? I think that the size of the Phal determines whether it needs sphag or not. Plants in under 6" pots I prefer sphag, 6" pots and above I go with bark. Please understand that using sphag is not for everyone, because if you are not used to the medium and over water, you will rot your roots much faster than by using bark. I use the skewer method to determine when to water, and I soak water the plants (esp. the ones in bark) once or twice a month. I just set them in the sink, and fill with water up to the pot rims, and let the plants soak for about 20 or 30 min.

[brookn]

Thanks Brooke with the e!!!

[glossterline]

Many thanks brookn. My plants are only in 4" pots at present, and yes, the bark was soaked before use. Yes, I also soak the pots in a tub of water and allow to drain well afterwards.
This is probably a very dumb question, but what is the 'skewer method'?

Les

[fred]

this will answer your question about the 'skewer method'
http://www.orchidgeeks.com/forum/orc...f-orchids.html