Advice for growing/repotting orchids

[youngadult109]

I received two pots of orchids as house warming gifts last summer. The one on the left hasn't been growing since its last flower and after I cut the stalk half-way (last november). As for the one on the right, I think it's stopped blooming too but they both have new roots and leaves growing still.

What shall I do with them now? I read online and find that I should repot them. If yes, where can I buy the materials for it?

Any suggestions or advice? Thanks!

[Ferguson]

Ask on an Orchid web site, as orchids need special care and special compost material, and normal compost may kill them.

[Qwebec]

Orchids must not be repotted in soil, it will kill them. I have had bout 20 orchids over the years, I I only ever needed to get bigger a bigger pot once. From the look of it your orchids are fine on that front. The material used in the pot can decay quite fast so changing it once a year or every other year can be a good idea. You can use bark chips or a kind of moss, both are especially sold for that purpose. When transplanting be carful the roots are fragile.
You probably won't get much in terms of flowers before the fall.
top tip: orchids need a bit of cooler temperature to bloom. In the fall give then 15-16 degree temperatures at night for 2 weeks. A few months later you should get new flowers.

[Qwebec]

forgot your second question: I'm not in the UK but I got mine in a garden center.

[Qwebec]

Oh also forgot to add: let your orchids dry before you change the soil and wait a few days after to water them. You will probably damage some roots in the process and an open wound is a door for infections. keeping the roots dry will limit the risks.

[shovetheholly]

If the roots are coming out of the pot and growing all over, they need to be potted on. You will require: a clear plastic pot in a slightly larger size and a bag of orchid compost (basically bark), and you might as well pick up some concentrated Baby Bio orchid food (pink bottle) while you're at it.

You repot as you would anything else, but into bark not soil - naturally, orchids grow aerially, in trees. You can cut out any dead roots while you do this (they will be all brown and soggy).

I treat mine pretty mean. I actually deliberately don't water them after they've flowered, until the leaves start going a bit soft (you do need to keep an eye out so you don't take this too far). Then, when I water and feed they are spurred to produce new flower shoots. These will grow from the base, but they can also be formed on the old flower shoots if you cut back to just above a node (a pair of little notches in the flowering stem) - doing this saves all the regrowing time but sometimes doesn't look as good as a totally fresh flower stem.

I keep my orchids in the bathroom - they really like the steam.