Why, When, and How Do You Repot an Orchid?

It's been three months since I have posted, and I have a lot of things to show you!

This first post is about when and how to repot your orchids.  If you've done some reading, most people will say that the best time to report your orchids is when they have just finished blooming.  This way, you don't risk shocking the plant while they have buds and flowers and have them bud blast on you!

But wait, why do you have to repot your orchids?  After a year or so in  pot, your potting material starts to decompose, and with it, the roots!  It really is good habit to do it annually, that way you can check up on the root system of your plant.  I was always too afraid to repot because I thought I would end up causing some kind of imbalance and killing them (especially when changing the type of medium, from sphagnum moss to bark).  I mean from the leaves, they looked fine!  But I decided to take the leap and repot ALL my orchids to for the first time....and good thing I did!  Cut off tons of dead roots, and I am happy to report my orchids are growing like crazy in their new bark medium!

And how to you report an orchids?  See the steps below!

You will need: 
-clean sheers
-medium, I really like bark because it is easy to buy (at any type of store that has a plant section really), soaked in water (though I think this is an exaggeration.  I forgot to soak them and just watered them after I repotted, and they were fine)
-newpaper for easy clean up!

Gently slide out the orchid from the pot.  Note that this orchid had just finished blooming - no risk of bud blast!

Right away, you can see ll the brown, rotten roots at the bottom of the pot.

After gently clearing away more bark, there are even more dead roots at the centre of the plant.  Green, yellow, white and pudgy roots are healthy. Brown, black, mushy roots are not. 

Using my sheers, I carefully cut away all the dead stuff, and this is what was left!  Still, a good amount of roots for a healthy root system.  Be sure to clean your sheers afterwards before using them on the next orchid.  This prevents the spread of potential diseases.

Place a little bit of bark at the bottom of your pot.  Place the orchid inside, make sure it fits and is at a good height.  Now for the awkward part.  Place some bark in the pots, shaking and shifting the pot to make sure bark fills all the gaps between the roots.  This could be tricky.  Be sure the roots are snug, but not completely squished so that they have air to breathe and grow.  Final product: what you have above!  Fini!