Repotting time

Last week, I cut the spike off of the Home Depot Orchid. The spike wasn't looking like its usual plump green self and one of the leaves was getting a bit splotchy. I'm not sure what is wrong with it but figured that its energy could probably be better off directed towards growth, so off went the spike.

A couple of days ago, while I was fiddling around with the Paph (they sit next to each other on the windowsill), I accidentally knocked him over and he pretty much fell out of the pot. I got him situated but he was mostly half falling out so I decide that on the next watering day, it would be a good time to repot. Look at him, half hanging out there!

What you see sticking out of the pot was most of the roots! The old media went into the trash. Repotting time is also a good time for some beauty maintenance. I ran the roots under the faucet so the roots would turn green. It's much easier to see which roots are still alive that way.

 Anything that wasn't plump and didn't fall anywhere on the spectrum of green or brown/green got cut off.

Next, I filled my watering bucket with water and a couple of drops of Physan 20 Fungicide and plopped the roots in. I also threw the plastic container and stake in for good measure. It doesn't take a lot of physan in the water and it helps to keep algae and fungi away.

While it was having its Physan soak, I wet my sphagmum moss. A lot of people hate (HATE!) finding orchids planted in moss. Moss holds a lot of water and holds onto that water for quite a while. One of the biggest mistakes made my new orchid growers is over watering and having most of the big box store orchids come packed in moss is something that makes a lot of people crazy. The trick with the moss is that you need to let it dry out to a "crispy dry" before you water again and you don't want to pack it in tightly. My Phal Baldan's Kaleidescope is packed in moss and it has been a happy orchid for three years! I also suspect that Home Depot Orchid hasn't been getting as much water is it needed since you can start to see some lines in the leaves. Phalaenopsis orchids can hold water in the stem and leaves and if they start shriveling, then that means they're not getting enough water.

The next part has always been tricky for me: getting the orchid root system back in the pot along with new media. Wetting the roots help to make them a little more flexible. I grabbed the roots I intended to shove back into the pot and stuck them in. If the base of the crown was still too far out of the pot, I would twist the roots down a bit more until he was sitting at an acceptable level. I hold him down with one hand and start adding moss with the other. The moss needs to be squeezed of excess water first. Then, I just try to fill in the gaps. Remember, don't over pack the moss, those roots need air flow!

The purpose of the moss (or any other growing medium for that matter) is two fold. First, it holds the roots down in the pot. Second, it retains moisture to create a humid, but not sopping wet, environment so the roots can slowly take in the water and nutrients it needs.

You can see the pockets of air in the pot and how he's no longer falling out of the pot! I hope he's a happier orchid now!

Watering orchids

Saturday mornings are when I like to water my orchids. Well, usually, unless I have to leave extremely early in the morning and there's barely time for me to get out of bed, get dressed, and leave. Then I do it on Sundays.

So this is what my kitchen ends up looking like when I get to watering.

One of my other hobbies is quilting/sewing and so I go through jugs of distilled water. I save those jugs for watering my plants since all of the fertilizer instructions tell you how much fertilizer to add to one gallon of water. Easy. Currently, I'm using the MSU Orchid Fertilizer mix from repotme.com.

All of my orchids sit in plastic pots with drainage holes which then sit in containers with no holes that can hold water. I pour the water in and let it sit for 15-30 minutes. There have been a few times when I have forgotten about them and remembered half a day later that they're still sitting in water. Once they're done sitting, I lift the inner pot out to drain, and put them back. Really easy. Any idiot can do it, hence why my orchids are still alive.

Miltonia repotting and a rosemary update

Rosemary is growing! When I water it, I water with fertilizer. I saw a recipe that involved grilled shrimp and rosemary skewers. I don't have enough branches to do that yet, but ONE DAY!

I was quite worried about the Miltonia since I was pretty sure it was potted in regular gardening soil. What did I find when I pulled it out of the pot?

Yes, gardening soil. I spent the couple of hours trying to untangle the roots and removing the soil swearing at the people who potted this. Thankfully, the roots look half way decent and a Miltonia can stand a lot of water. But still, DIRT!

Orchid roots need air to breathe. Dirt holds moisture quite well and will usually suffocate the roots. At least, the roots were just sitting on top of the soil. I repotted it so that there's a layer of bark at the bottom and then surrounded it with moss. Hope it will be okay.

I think the leaves also suffered some cold damage when I had it too close to the window. I trimmed those leaves down and applied some cinnamon powder to where I cut.