I am a lil new at gardening and I dont know how I can replant this orchid. I think it is growing aerial roots n I would like to plant it so I can have two plants. Please advice me how exactly i should cut it. Also, when would it be a right time to do this?? Thanks!!
What you have growing is called a keiki (sp?). It is a baby orchid. Gently remove it from the momma plant and pot it up Orchid style - Orchid mix & dont bury all of the roots. Its better if you let the Orchid mix soak in water for a day also.
Congrats!
bre
I have an orchid with no flower and big thick leaf (2 years now). This year I plant it in regular potting soil. Is this a good thing or bad?
Generally orchids are better off in special orchid mix, it typically has bigger chunks of bark and has more pores than regular potting mix does so you get more air around the roots. Depending on what sort of orchid it is, it may rot more easily if you've got it in regular potting mix.
I killed my 1st orchid that way... they dont like to have "wet feet" and need to be able to drain the water and get air threw the medium...
I would repot it right away - Like ecrane3 said - they are better in an orchid mix..
There is prob another reason it isnt doing much - what kind is it?
bre
Don't re-pot it till it finishes flowering, orchids grow in there natural habitat on the bark of trees etc and take any nutrients from falling debris from the trees etc that they attach themselves to, so ordinary soil will kill off the roots, they also like to have aerial roots out of the orchid growing medium as this lets them get air, grab some nutrients floating about in the atmosphere etc, you can buy the proper mix of compost for orchids from the garden store, not too sure about cutting the tuber to divide the plant, I thought all orchids sent out their own tuber/bulb-lets them self as they matured, the other type of orchids that grow in the ground are growing in leaf litter and light mouldy soil naturally, again normally quite well draining, so find a book on orchids at the library or book store to read up on how to deal with the one you have properly, it would be a shame to loose your plant now, good luck. WeeNel.
Take that phal OUT of the potting soil ASAP and put it in proper orchid mix.
There is an orchid forum here on Dave's, check it out!
Can I plant two varieties in one large pot?
To the person with the orchid in potting soil, try to get a picture or let us know what kind of orchid it is. There are some that grow in soil, but most are air plants. What was it planted in before you repotted it?
To the original poster. You have done a great job growing that keiki out so well, you can cut it off the flower stem and pot it up and treat it as an adult. It is a very nice size, and shouldn't require any babying.
About planting 2 varieties in one pot, sure, but you have to be sure they require the same care and that you don't over water since you will have too big of a pot. I like seperate pots, but as long as you are providing what they require, there is no reason not to grow them together except it will make repotting time much harder and may cause more damage than necessary when trying to seperate them and get the old bark or sphagnum out..
As 3jsmom31 said, you can put two in once container as long as they have the same care requirements. But if they were my plants I would keep them in their own separate pots--besides the issues when you go to repot I could see a few other possibilities. If they're in the same pot and you overwater it, they'll both die. Or if one gets an insect infestation or some other disease, then the other one will likely get it too since there's no way to separate and quarantine the infected one. Since orchids tend to be on the expensive side, I'd rather keep them separate so that if an unfortunate accident happens to one of them, the other one might be spared.
