To keep in the theme of flowers and spring, I wanted to talk a little bit about my orchid. The phalaenopsis.
Orchids are notoriously tough, but I got one because it was part of the Trash it or Treasure it tasks. Plus they’re pretty – how hard can it be, I thought?
Well, it’s not a simple plant, that’s for sure. Fortunately, I live next door to some orchid experts, who have probably 20-25 plants, of all different species.
Mine is a phalaenopsis, which is the most common one you’ll see. I’ve had it for several months now, and it’s still alive. But it needs maintenance. They really like the same temperatures we do, but would prefer high humidity, which is not what’s in my house.
And apparently, they need to be re-potted and cleaned out. Who knew?
So on Friday, my neighbor came over to help me. We laid out newspaper on the counter, and he pulled the orchid and it’s “stuff” out – it’s a New Zealand moss that the orchid was living in. They don’t live in soil.
The moss was starting to deteriorate, which was starting to affect the root coverings of the Phal (I won’t go into the technical terms for everything, because I don’t remember them 
). So it was good that we were cleaning it – this should be done after it’s finished blooming, which mine had.
It turned out there were two orchid plants in there, but one had died, so we got rid of that. Then my neighbor pulled out all of the old moss from the roots of the plant while I washed the pot with soap and water. He pulled the stalks off of the leaves – he said we were done with them, they wouldn’t flower again. Then, it was time to re-pot.
First, you place some fresh orchid mix in the bottom of the pot – I was using some I’d picked up at Lowes which looked like mulch. It’s got to be specific to your orchid though.
Next, my neighbor placed the orchid in the pot, while I filled around it with the remaining mixture. While doing this, he used a regular pencil to push the mix down among the roots of the orchid – he said we’d know we were finished when we could pick the orchid up by its leaves and it stayed in the pot.
This went on for a few minutes, and finally, we were finished!
I asked about watering – when I plant most things, I water them right away. Not so with the orchid.
He said that the next morning, I was to water it with a light shower from the kitchen sprayer for 2-3 minutes. Then leave it for about 10 minutes, and do the same thing again. This kind of watering is what should be done every 10 days or so.
In terms of fertilizing, he suggested I do that when I can see the roots starting to grow over the soil, and can see that the tip is a different color to the rest of the root – that’s when the orchid wants to be fertilized. Good tips.
So now my orchid is fresh and ready for new blooms next year! If I don’t kill it, my neighbor said he’d give me a cutting of his mount hood orchid when he separates it next year – it’s really beautiful, so let’s hope I can keep this one alive!
Lookin' good!
