Here's how you do it

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Choose the best date wisely

Every 2 to 3 years, orchids want to move to a larger pot with fresh substrate. At the latest, when the strong roots push the plant out of the container, you should add this measure to the agenda. It is always high time to repot when the root strands grow out of the opening in the ground. Please adjust the date to the individual growth cycle of the Orchid type. The plant should either be at the end of the flowering period or at the end of the winter dormancy.

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These materials should be readily available

So that the work does not stall for an unnecessarily long time when planting, please keep these materials within easy reach:

  • An old sheet or plastic wrap used as a dirt trap
  • Freshly sharpened and disinfected tool
  • Special orchid substrate from the trade or as an individual mixture
  • Hand sprayer or spray bottle with lime-free water
  • Expanded clay,(€ 16.36 at Amazon *)Lava granules(€ 14.00 at Amazon *) or perlite
  • Charcoal powder or cinnamon

Add transparent culture pots of different sizes, as it is usually not possible to tell in advance what diameter the new container should have.

Tips for the perfect substrate

Because the epiphytic orchids sit on trees in their home without a substrate to deal with their aerial roots Collecting moisture and nutrients, they make special demands on the houseplant Earth. If the blossoms have not yet met expectations, we recommend switching to an optimized substrate as part of the repotting campaign. The perfect one is made up of these main components Orchid soil together:

  • Pieces of bark Pine tree or pine in fine, medium or coarse grain
  • Organic components: leaves, sphagnum, peat dust, coconut fibers, nutshells
  • Inorganic components: Lava granules, Zeolite, seramis, Perlite,(€ 35.50 at Amazon *) Styrofoam balls

The art of the orchid gardener now consists in conjuring up a recipe from the main components that makes his capricious tropical beauties happy. The special requirements of the respective orchid species are also important. An epiphytic phalaenopsis favors a different substrate than a terrestrial lady's slipper orchid.

Prepare and pot properly - as you do it in an exemplary manner

To the strong Aerial roots To do as little force as possible, the preparations start the day before planting. Immerse the pot with the braided roots in a bucket of soft water until no more air bubbles rise. As a result, the root strands are much more flexible so that you can pot the orchid the next day like this:

  • Spread out the sheet or cloth on the work surface as a dirt trap
  • Knead the culture pot with your hands until the roots detach from the walls of the vessel
  • Grasp the orchid between the leaves and the root ball with your fingers and pull it out of the pot
  • Shake off the old orchid soil and carefully rinse off the last remains

Since the root system is now in front of you without any substrate, take the opportunity to clean up. Cut off any rotten, soft, and dried-up roots. Dust the cuts with cinnamon or charcoal ash. Plump, creamy white root strands are spared from being pruned.

Planting with the right twist - this planting technique has proven itself

The recommended preparations make planting orchids easier and reduce stress for the gardener and the plant alike. Do not leave a processed orchid for a long time without a substrate, but potting it up as soon as possible:

  • Create a 2-3 cm high water-bearing layer of expanded clay, perlite or lava granulate over the water drain
  • Fill in a first layer of the coarse orchid substrate
  • Grasp the orchid between leaves and roots and plant in the pot with a twisting motion
  • Fill in the fresh pieces of substrate in portions and open the pot in between

You have done the repotting of your orchid perfectly when the root neck is centered on Height of the edge of the pot, the roots undamaged and all spaces filled with substrate are.

Feel-good care after repotting - this is how the orchid regenerates quickly

Immediately after planting, immerse the pot with the root ball in soft, room-warm water. Then please pour out the planter so that no waterlogging forms. A gentle spray of lime-free water makes the noble plant sympathetic. Since there is a supply of nutrients in the fresh orchid soil, the application of fertilizer does not start again until after 6 weeks. By then, the stressed orchid has long since regenerated itself in the partially shaded, warm window seat.

Tips

If an orchid suffers from waterlogging, repot the plant immediately; even if the ideal time window for this measure is not open. The noble flower can cope with the stress in the middle of the growth phase better than continuing to expose it to the danger of rotting roots. The earlier you put the afflicted orchid in dry Substrate plant, the better the chances of survival.