Well, finally, you have the first orchid. What to do with this beauty? Perhaps some recommendations were given in the store at the time of purchase, perhaps you will find useful information from this article. I hope that in answering the question of how to transplant an orchid correctly, the photos below will help you a little. So, let's begin.
How to choose a pot
One of the important tips on the topic "how to transplant an orchid" is a recommendation on choosing a pot. If you bought the plant not in a plastic container, but in a soft cellophane, then of course it is worth replacing it. Sometimes orchids are sold in good professional pots that you can not change. The most important rule for such a tank is high ventilation. The pot for planting the plant should have a number of holes, sufficient not only for a quick drain of water, but also providing quick drying of the roots of the orchid. You can buy it in the store, or you can do it yourself. Choose transparent orchid pots so that you can observe the development and condition of the root system of the plant in them. Such monitoring helps to determine the frequency of watering and allows you to immediately notice the problems.
Why are ceramic and glass orchid pots bad? Firstly, most often there is one hole in them. It is quite difficult for a beginner in this hobby to decide on watering a plant in such a pot.
Secondly, if it is opaque, it is impossible to assess the state of the root system and prevent the death of the plant in time. Thirdly, orchids roots grow to the rough inner wall of ceramic pots with their microwaves. Then, when transplanting, you can severely damage the root system.
A pot for an orchid needs to be taken a little more than the one in which you bought it.
Professional containers for such plants vary in bottom shape. It can be flat, and also happens with a small recess inward in the middle, cut by openings (air-pot). This form is good for a humid climate, since with it, drying out the roots is much better. Homemade orchid pots are very easy to manufacture. In order to make a container in which the plant will live for several years, a plastic transparent bucket, a long thick nail and a gas burner are enough. With a heated nail, we pierce holes along the bottom and along the lower edge of the walls of the pot - that's all. Inexpensive and functional house for your pet is ready.
Recommendations for choosing a plastic pot reflect how to transplant an orchid correctly. If you want the plant to attract the eye not only with its flowers, but also with the subject in which it grows, you can put a plastic container in a beautiful decorative pot.
Orchid Primer
Of the soils that I met in stores, with 100% certainty, I can not recommend any of them. The most proven option is a mixture of pine bark and sphagnum in the proportion most suitable for your climate. The principle for the preparation of such a soil: the less humidity, the more sphagnum, and vice versa.
At 80% humidity of this soil, add about 1/3 of the volume. The size of the pieces of bark is not more than 1.5 cm. You can add charcoal. Of course, depending on the type of plant, there are corrections in the answer to the question of how to transplant an orchid correctly. But now universal requirements for planting these representatives of the flora are being considered.
Well, about the nuances
In my article, I tried to highlight the main points and tell as much as possible about how to transplant an orchid correctly. I would be glad if my experience is really useful to you. When you brought the orchid home from the store (from the day of birth, from a wedding, etc.), it needs to be transplanted, not transferred. That is, completely stir the roots, freeing them from the ground. At the same time, you will be able to fully assess their condition. In addition, before planting in new soil, it is recommended to treat the whole plant with antibacterial and fungicidal preparations (Gliokladin, Alirin, Gamair, Fitolavin, etc.). Very often, especially for suppliers from East Asia, orchids are fully sold in sphagnum. And it happens that these people, falling asleep on the edge of the pot of bark, in the middle of the root system somehow tamp the sphagnum. Most likely this is done to provide moisture to the plant during transportation and sale. But at home, the following is obtained: if you have transferred everything into a slightly larger pot, leaving a piece of sphagnum in the core, the outer layers of the soil will dry out very quickly, creating the effect of dried earth. And in the middle of the root system there will be an eternally wet, non-drying sphagnum, which will very quickly cause decay of the root system with a gradual infection of the neck or rhizome (rhizome) of the orchid.
In my article, I tried to highlight the main points and tell as much as possible about how to transplant an orchid correctly. I would be glad if my experience is really useful to you.