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Everyday competent orchid care is the key to a long life of this tropical plant and its regular flowering. But, even watering the flower properly and maintaining the humidity of the air next to it, is unlikely to succeed if you do not know how to transplant an orchid. The fact is that transferring this culture to a new pot is very different from transplanting other indoor plants.
Orchid care at home and its transplant are closely related to each other. If the plant receives full-scale care, it inevitably grows and requires transfer to a larger container.(Orchids Phalaenopsis - read about the features of care)
But to determine the need for transplanting orchids is not always easy. A sign that any other indoor culture has "grown" from the pot allotted to it, we can consider weaving as the roots of the whole earthen clod. And when the roots germinate through the drainage holes, the grower simply cannot be slow.
Regarding orchids, this habitual rule does not work. In most epiphytic species, aerial roots:
- germinate through all sorts of pot openings;
- tightly sucking, weave the container outside;
- randomly protrude from above.
And this is not a reason for an emergency transplant, but quite a normal situation. When is orchid transplantation at home really necessary?
Causes of orchid transplantation
Transplantation is a stressful situation for each green plant. Orchid is not an exception, and due to the extensive powerful root system after transferring to a new pot, indoor culture can slow down its growth, showing signs of ill health with all kinds.
When there is no urgent need for orchid transplantation, it is better not to disturb the plant, allowing it to grow in one container for up to three years in a row.
Yet sometimes it is impossible to delay the orchid transplant.
- The pot became so small that the roots almost crowded out large fractions of the substrate, completely taking up the entire capacity.
- During the growth of the orchid, the substrate in the pot has completely lost its coarse-grained structure. That is, fragments of the bark exfoliated and decomposed, sphagnum will lose the ability to accumulate moisture.
- On the roots of orchids, foci of decay or mass drying were revealed;
- Inside the pot showed signs of insect pests.
In the first two cases, you can plan a transplant and not rush to it until the spring, when the plant begins to leave the dormant period. And before you transplant an orchid in another pot, you need to prepare a new soil, carefully choose a new container for the mother plant, and if necessary, for the daughter outlets.
Orchid transplantation during flowering
Unfortunately, there are situations involving a risk for room culture. Another thing, the identification of pests, rotting spots or other problems requires an emergency transplant. Is it possible to replant an orchid during flowering?
Buying an orchid in the store, flower growers bring home a flowering plant. If the socket is healthy, there are no dark spots on the roots, there are no dry areas that interfere with the supply of food, and the buds open and do not wilt directly on the peduncle, there are no reasons for concern or an urgent orchid transplant. The lack of substrate can be supplemented with steamed and dried moss, pieces of bark or small clay.
For a diseased orchid, the appearance of a peduncle is not a reason for refusing to sanitize and transfer to another soil. In this case, replanting an orchid during flowering can and should be! True, it is better to sacrifice a spikelet that exhausts the rosette, neatly cutting it with clean sharp shears or scissors.
The substrate for orchid transplantation at home.
Orchid soil is not similar to any other substrate. This is a loose mixture of rather large fragments:
- claydite;
- sphagnum moss;
- shredded coniferous bark;
- foam;
- charcoal.
Flower growers who have experience in growing and caring for orchids at home, when transplanting, use these and other components to create an air-permeable substrate, the purpose of which is not only providing food, but also hooking roots.
Over time, powerful roots literally grind the bark and coal, and the sphagnum turns into dust. The soil is compacted, settles and no longer solves the tasks. The more soft, destructible components in the substrate, the more often orchid transplantation and replacement of the soil is required.
A cognitive video on how to transplant an orchid, tells about the advantages of one or another component, explains the subtleties of soil selection for a luxurious guest from the tropics. 
How to transplant an orchid?
Transplanting an orchid is preceded by a thorough preparation of everything that a grower may need to work. These are:
- plastic pot for an overgrown flower, selected not only by the size of the root system, but also by type of orchid, for epiphytes, for example, it is recommended to use transparent containers with slots;
- is a fresh, ready-made or self-made substrate for an orchid, which is steamed a couple of days before transplanting;
- crushed activated or birch coal;
- disinfected scissors or pruner;
- soft settled water at room temperature.
The pot that was previously used is also treated with a disinfectant solution and wiped dry.
When it comes to a flower with problematic roots or soil pests or insects that have been attacked, it is treated with insecticides or fungicides before transplanting an orchid. This means that they should also be taken care of in advance.
How to transplant an orchid at home: a step by step guide
The first thing they do when transplanting is to take a plant from an old pot. With regard to orchids, it is not always easy to do this, because it is important not only to release the roots, but not to damage them.
Pre-moistening of the substrate can ease the work, for which the pot is immersed for a few minutes in the settled water. After this procedure, the roots are saturated with moisture, become more elastic and strong.
Orchid pots are made of pliable plastic, you can gently knead them in your palms so that the roots loosen their grip, releasing the pieces of soil and the walls of the container. After that, the root system can be removed from the pot. But the root stuck in a slot or drainage hole should not be cut off. This may cause it to rot. It is more correct to cut the plastic near the problem area and release the root.
Old substrate, and at the same time possible pests can be washed off with a stream of warm water.
This procedure will allow you to carefully inspect all the roots for the detection of rotting areas settled on insect roots or from larvae.
How to transplant at home an orchid, on the roots of which there are signs of some diseases?
First of all, the root system should be well washed, and then dried and treated with a systemic insecticide. If during the transplantation of an orchid, traces of a spider mite are noticed, they also fight it with the help of an acaricide.
The plant should get into the new pot without extraneous "tenants" and damaged by rot, fungi or insect roots. All problematic, blackened, dried out or, conversely, moist areas are carefully trimmed, dried and treated with fungicide and crushed charcoal.
After freeing the orchid, you should remove from the outlet the leaves that have lost their tone, yellowed or already dried. Sections are also powdered with coal powder. From the moment the plant is removed from the old container to the orchid transplant, it takes about eight hours to dry the roots.
Describing step by step how to transplant an orchid at home, one cannot ignore the question of choosing a pot. It is wrong to acquire the capacity "for growth".Caught in too large a pot, cutting orchid will reduce the frequency of flowering, and will actively grow foliage:
- Put a little substrate on the bottom of the pot.
- From the top, as far as possible straightening aerial roots, put an orchid.
- Empty spaces between the roots and the walls of the pot are carefully filled with the prepared soil mixture so that it evenly fills the free space, and the plant is fixed as firmly as possible in the container.
It is wrong to immerse all aerial roots in the ground or to try to compact the substrate. After some time, the roots will find a convenient position for them, consolidate without additional help.
After the orchid has been transplanted, it needs to provide the most comfortable conditions for adaptation. It is better to put the pot in a room where the flower will not be disturbed by direct sunlight, the temperature will be within 20–22 ° C, and the air humidity will be slightly increased. Watering a flower can be resumed on the fifth day, and the first dressing after transplanting an orchid should be expected only in a month.
