How to Repot Your Just Add Ice Orchid

As mentioned in our previous post, your Just Add Ice Orchid will need to be repotted periodically to provide additional room for new growth and to renew its potting medium. It generally takes about 2 years for potting materials to break down and decompose. If your orchid is not repotted when decomposition sets in, the potting medium can become over-saturated, exposing your orchid to the threat of deadly root rot. When orchid-potting mediums break down, they lose their ability to carry nutrients to the plant and must be replaced to ensure the continued healthy growth of your Just Add Ice Orchid. Orchids should also be repotted if they develop an odor which can be a sign of either root rot of bacterial disease.

Repotting a Phalaenopsis orchid is not a difficult task, but care must be taken to protect the plant from damage during handling.

To repot your Just Add Ice Orchid, follow these steps:

1. Place new, dry orchid potting medium into a bucket and pour water over it. Mix well and allow it to soak for 24 hours. This allows the potting material to absorb as much moisture as possible. After 24 hours, pour off excess water and, if necessary, gently squeeze excess water from the potting material without compressing the growing medium. It should feel like a damp sponge.
2. When the potting mix is ready to use, prepare to repot your orchid. Have a pot handy that is about ½ to 1 inch larger in diameter than the orchid’s current pot. If your plant is tremendously root-bound, you may need an even larger pot. You can determine how big the new pot should be by removing the plant from its current pot and holding it in the center of the new pot. There should be about 1/2 inch of space between the plant’s roots and the sides and bottom of the new pot.

Continued next time..