How to Pot-up Vanda Orchids From a Flask
Orchids are an attractive, popular house flower. There are 28,000 species of orchids, and the plant is still evolving. These plants can be highly adaptable, which makes them ideal as houseplants. They do take some specific care, but their unique, long-lasting blooms have endeared them to those who grow them. Many people seek to propagate their own orchids, to keep them for many years. Keeping orchids for many years means that at some point, however, you'll have to transfer them into bigger pots. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Pot
- Growing medium (fern, peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, pine bark or pebbles)
Instructions
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1
Choose your new pot. Orchids need good drainage and lots of circulation, so the best ports are those that have drainage holes in the bottom. Clay pots are also good, as they soak water out of the soil and keep the orchid's roots dry.
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2
Mix your planting medium. Use something that will fully support vanda orchid roots while providing air pockets for ventilation. Peat moss, fern fiber, perlite and vermiculite are all widely available at garden centers. You can also mix in pine bark.
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3
Fill your new pot 2/3 of the way full with your planting medium.
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4
Gently remove the planting medium from around the roots of the orchid, and pull it from its old pot. Be careful not to damage the orchid's roots or shoots at this time.
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5
Place the vanda orchid in the new pot. Spread the roots carefully over the foundation. Make sure the plant is centered in the pot and not up against the edge.
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6
Pack more of your planting medium tightly around the vanda orchid to fill the pot. Test the strength of your packing by turning the pot upside down; the orchid should stay put.
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Tips & Warnings
Only water orchids once a week.
Repot orchids when new shoots are extending over the pot's edge.
Do not let orchids sit in standing water, as they will suffer.
