Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => General Gardening => Topic started by: samuria on March 01, 2022, 12:37

Title: repotting orchids
Post by: samuria on March 01, 2022, 12:37

any advise on repotting orchids ?
these are my wife's and need doing now.
unsure of the type of compost. they have what seems like a coarse bark mix,!!! read some reviews on amazon and one lot seems to have loads of flies hatch out and then killed the plants????  any help kindly needed please........

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: Yorkie on March 01, 2022, 18:10

Orchids do indeed like a very free draining, bark-like compost.

But as for brands, I'm not sure, sorry.

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: samuria on March 01, 2022, 20:53

anyone know please....... :(

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: Growster... on March 02, 2022, 06:03

I hope I can be forgiven for posting this link to The Daily Express, but I was reading it only a few minutes ago!

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/garden/1573144/orchid-care-tips-how-to-repot-houseplant-spring-avoid-diseases-exclusive

Some of your answers are here!

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: samuria on March 02, 2022, 11:42

many thanks...... that seems to help
 ;)

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: Agatha on March 06, 2022, 12:34

If it's a coarse bark mix you want, try the Orchid Focus one.  I use it for my Phalaenopsis, Den nobile and Den phals.

I'd avoid Westland.

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: samuria on March 08, 2022, 09:25

thanks agatha... who makes the orchid focus one ?

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: comfreykid on March 08, 2022, 18:16

Orchid focus is made by Growth Technology , l use it my self , very good compost.  :)

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: samuria on March 08, 2022, 18:48

many thanks for that  ;)

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: Subversive_plot on March 08, 2022, 21:16

I'm chiming bin a bit late to the party, but I used to be the president of the Northeast Georgia Orchid Society (sadly, NGOS ended in early 2020, like many other things  :(  ).

Many of the orchids you see in the grocery store do well if re-potted in very coarse, free-draining medium (or compost as you say; like fir bark chunks, 1 or 2 cm across). There are other orchids that prefer something else.  A picture of the orchid plant would help sort out what kind you have and what to recommend.

I have orchids that grow in many different materials: bark, sphagnum moss, African violet potting soil, rocks, . . . even whole wine corks and bare pieces of wood!

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: samuria on March 09, 2022, 10:34

here are the orchids the wife has 10 of these :ohmy:

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: Subversive_plot on March 12, 2022, 01:12

Samuria, those are moth orchids (genus Phalaenopsis).  They do well potted in coarse bark.  You should be able to find orchid bark, or orchid potting mix (that looks like it has a lot of bark) at nearly all garden centers.  Brand is unimportant; if it is coarse, with no "fines" (fines = stuff that looks suitable for houseplants), it is probably OK.  Ingredients that are common, and OK, are bark, coarse charcoal, and perlite (or similar).  I would avoid mixes that contain coir (coconut fiber; it contains a certain amount of salt).

The roots on those orchids look very good.  Don't worry too much that they are not down inside the bark; they are healthy.  So, there is no rush to re-pot.

Title: Re: repotting orchids
Post by: samuria on March 12, 2022, 09:07

thanks very much.... i'am safe for a while then  ::) the wife is
baking today so the rolling pin would be out LOL....