When is the Best Time for Repotting Orchids?

You want your orchid to stay healthy and thriving for as long as possible — which means you’ll eventually need to find it a new home. Since many orchid owners find repotting to be a little intimidating, today we’re going over all the signs it might be time to repot, as well as a few tips for getting started.

First, let’s discuss why repotting is important for the health of your orchid.

Why Do I Need to Repot my Orchid?

Repotting helps keep your orchid healthy and ensure it will keep growing.

Moving your plant to a larger pot helps facilitate growth and ensure the potting media stays fresh. When it comes to repotting, however, timing is everything. If you repot too early, you could negatively impact the future growth of your orchid or cause blooms to fall off prematurely.

So When is the Right Time?

Most experts recommend repotting orchids every one to two years, and that can be a great rule of thumb to follow. However, there are a few other reasons that may come up in the meantime that require repotting earlier or more frequently. Here are a few common reasons:

• When your orchid has outgrown its pot. Once you notice your orchid’s roots seem too crowded in its current container, it’s time to look for a bigger home for your plant. If you see roots beginning to grow up from the plant stem or start to crawl over the side of the pot, it’s a telltale sign your current pot has become too small.
• When the potting media goes bad. Your orchid gets nutrients from its potting media, but eventually, enough nutrients will be leached from the media and it will being to break down into compost. While repotting every one to two years should prevent this issue, your potting media may begin to decay sooner, especially if your current pot isn’t properly draining. If you begin to notice a bad odor, it’s definitely time to repot.
• When your orchid is between blooming cycles. You want to wait until your orchid has finished blooming and all the flowers have fallen off before attempting to repot it. If there are no pressing reasons to repot your orchid, wait until a blooming cycle is complete.

What Else Do I Need to Know About Repotting Orchids?

Even if you’ve repotted other plants before, make sure you do your research before repotting an orchid. First, be as careful as possible when removing your plant from its current container. You’ll need a new pot that is around an inch larger than the pot your orchid has just outgrown — and make sure it has drainage holes. Ideally, all of the roots of your plant will fit into the new pot with about half an inch of space around the sides of the pot, which you can then fill in with potting media.

Want to make repotting even easier? Order our Orchid Repotting Kit!

It contains everything you need to repot your orchid, including a new pot, potting media and step-by-step instructions.