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**Cammi**

hi everyone. Happy Friday.

Question... I have an orchid that needs to be moved to a bigger pot. I know orchids are very delicate, so I was hoping someone here could give Me some tips on how to do it.

I know there is special orchid soil that you can buy, so I got that..but what do I do with the roots? I took a pic to show you what I mean.

Thanks!

[Image: IMAG1182_zpse3fc71ab.jpg]

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 125525 10-20-2012 03:04 AM

just be very gentle and talk it thru it.

**xenoverse**

Just get a big pot with enough holes in the bottom, big enough pot to fit those roots in then place the plant in the middle and gently sprinkle the special dirt into the pot until it fills up, just don't pack it in tightly.

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 125525 10-20-2012 03:06 AM

what to do with the root...suspend them in the pot and drizzle the soil around them, water a bit to let it settle then drizzle more soil, tamp down lightly, repeat until they are covered. good luck Heartflowers

**xenoverse**

you might try gently pushing the roots into a lower position

**BloodRed**

~ Oooops!! This farm-girl is folding; orchids are one plant that I don't have much experience with (which is actually okay, that way I get to be TOTALLY AMAZED by them). <3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhmEo-46vUQ

Cheer

**David** · **David** regulate this! User ID: 128112 10-20-2012 03:14 AM **Posts: 31,526**

Cammi Wrote:

hi everyone. Happy Friday.

Question... I have an orchid that needs to be moved to a bigger pot. I know orchids are very delicate, so I was hoping someone here could give Me some tips on how to do it.

I know there is special orchid soil that you can buy, so I got that..but what do I do with the roots? I took a pic to show you what I mean.

Thanks!

Not soil -- bark.

And there are special planters.

The hard part is giving them just the right amount of water by misting.

I used to have some.

A bit of work.

**Timetraveler**

Yes, bark. They hate having there feet wet. Might be why it's hanging it's feet out of the container. It does need a wider pot. Do not pack the bark stuff down. Keep light and airy and mist mist mist.

**David** · **David** regulate this! User ID: 128112 10-20-2012 03:29 AM **Posts: 31,526**

Timetraveler Wrote:

Yes, bark. They hate having there feet wet. Might be why it's hanging it's feet out of the container. It does need a wider pot. Do not pack the bark stuff down. Keep light and airy and mist mist mist.

Good advice. Yes. And you have to be careful when replanting.

And, OP, orchids take special containers with holes on the sides for roots to grow through -- and drainage...but really you're misting, so there is not much of that. Your gardening shop will point you to the right pots for replanting.

Good luck.

**czygyny** · (This post was last modified: 10-20-2012 03:31 AM by czygyny.)

You have a phaleonopsis orchid. It is a relatively easy orchid to grow, but still takes a bit of skill. I have around 20 of them, they've become so cheap to own and have been hyridized so much that there are a lot of them to choose. I bought my first on in the 70s for $25 which was a LOT of money back then.

Use the next size up of a basic plastic pot. If yours is a 4" (measured diameter at top) then go up to a 6", if 6" go up to 8". Phals don't need the slotted pots, ordinary green plastic pots are perfect.

Buy a bag of small diameter bark at Home Depot or other similar store. Figure out how much bark it will take to fill up the pot and set the amount to soak in a bucket for an hour or two.

Fill up the pot about a third way up with bark, pull the orchid out of its old pot, cut off dead and bruised roots, straighten out any circling roots and place in the pot. Start filling up with bark until it is full. Gently pull up the orchid so that the roots remain buried but the bottom of the crown is level with the top of the pot. Give a good soaking and let drain.

I would not put your orchid back in such a small decorative over-pot, but set the new pot on a generous saucer. Rot from standing in water too long is the biggest killer of phaleonopsis orchids.

Fertilize monthly with Miracle-gro or any other houseplant fertilizer, a bloom mix is best if you want more flowers next time. Yours looks like it needs a good feed.

Hope this helps, they are ugly plants out of flower but when in flower they are a long-lived knockout!

Here's my 'Baldan's Golden Treasure', one of the more popular hybrids:

[Image: F1C9_5081FE82.jpg]

**Cammi**

czygyny Wrote:

You have a phaleonopsis orchid. It is a relatively easy orchid to grow, but still takes a bit of skill. I have around 20 of them, they've become so cheap to own and have been hyridized so much that there are a lot of them to choose. I bought my first on in the 70s for $25 which was a LOT of money back then.

Use the next size up of a basic plastic pot. If yours is a 4" (measured diameter at top) then go up to a 6", if 6" go up to 8". Phals don't need the slotted pots, ordinary green plastic pots are perfect.

Buy a bag of small diameter bark at Home Depot or other similar store. Figure out how much bark it will take to fill up the pot and set the amount to soak in a bucket for an hour or two.

Fill up the pot about a third way up with bark, pull the orchid out of its old pot, cut off dead and bruised roots, straighten out any circling roots and place in the pot. Start filling up with bark until it is full. Gently pull up the orchid so that the roots remain buried but the bottom of the crown is level with the top of the pot. Give a good soaking and let drain.

I would not put your orchid back in such a small decorative over-pot, but set the new pot on a generous saucer. Rot from standing in water too long is the biggest killer of phaleonopsis orchids.

Fertilize monthly with Miracle-gro or any other houseplant fertilizer, a bloom mix is best if you want more flowers next time. Yours looks like it needs a good feed.

Hope this helps, they are ugly plants out of flower but when in flower they are a long-lived knockout!

Here's my 'Baldan's Golden Treasure', one of the more popular hybrids:

Just bought this.one today!

[Image: IMAG1183_zps86e5f826.jpg]

Fill up the pot about a third way up with bark, pull the orchid out of its old pot, cut off dead and bruised roots,

what do dead or bruised roots look like?

straighten out any circling roots and place in the pot. Start filling up with bark until it is full. Gently pull up the orchid so that the roots remain buried but the bottom of the crown is level with the top of the pot. Give a good soaking and let drain.

I would not put your orchid back in such a small decorative over-pot, but set the new pot on a generous saucer.

what's an over-pot and/or saucer?

Rot from standing in water too long is the biggest killer of phaleonopsis orchids.

Fertilize monthly with Miracle-gro or any other houseplant fertilizer, a bloom mix is best if you want more flowers next time. Yours looks like it needs a good feed.

**czygyny**

Cammi Wrote:

Just bought this.one today!

Congratulations! You have one of the best known cultivars, 'Baldan's Golden Treasure' and one of the best bloomers on the market. Mine had 27 blossoms on it at one time. It is my largest orchid, now in a 8" pot.

Cammi Wrote:

what do dead or bruised roots look like? what is a saucer.

This image shows dead roots, healthy roots, a crown that needs cleaning (some dead stuff) the dying leaf is showing me something is amiss. I find some cultivars are much sturdier than others.

It needs a bigger pot, it needs the dead stuff cut out, remove the leaf and it should be good to go. Shame on me.

It is in the type of saucer I recommend, just because they are sturdy, cheap and attractive.

You will find that your orchid is in a small, clear pot within a tight-fitting plastic (over) pot that is restricting the draining of the plant. I can see that the growing medium has been oversaturated for some time.

Some orchids come potted in a sphagnum moss medium. I suggest as soon as its initial blooms are done that you toss out the moss and replace with the small bark. I have had some success using the moss as a topper, but I would not suggest it until you get more familiar with orchid care. I tend to underwater so some do benefit from the moss on top.

[Image: AD00_508230FE.jpg]

Cammi Wrote:

[I] what's an over pot

See how this orchid is set in a bigger, more attractive pot? It will work fine IF it has good drainage below, a few inches of gravel will work and preferably not tight fitting so as not to allow you to see standing water and lack of air circulation. Orchids like moist but airy roots!

[Image: 1184_50823150.jpg]

This is the only one I have in bloom at the moment, a long-lasting miniature harlequin (spotted) but no special name.

[Image: 7887_50823136.jpg]

I keep most of my orchids on a custom made stainless steel tray filled with small gravel pebbles filled with water and use plant lights in a plant window for optimum light...but then I am a rabid gardener! chuckle

**Cammi**

Cammi Wrote:

hi everyone. Happy Friday.

Question... I have an orchid that needs to be moved to a bigger pot. I know orchids are very delicate, so I was hoping someone here could give Me some tips on how to do it.

I know there is special orchid soil that you can buy, so I got that..but what do I do with the roots? I took a pic to show you what I mean.

Thanks!

Ok, did my best. Cut off dead roots the best I could. Cleaned the leaves, repotted in a new container and added some fertilizer to it.

Guess well see how it goes!

[Image: IMAG1195_zps89b12d64.jpg]

**Aqua**

LoP Guest Wrote:

just be very gentle and talk it thru it.

here's an orchid's 'mini-me'...so maybe he knows a few things...

[Image: 38AD_50869F8C.jpg]

**Cammi**

Aqua Wrote:

LoP Guest Wrote:
just be very gentle and talk it thru it.

here's an orchid's 'mini-me'...so maybe he knows a few things...

That's really neat!