Repotting is one of the key ingredients to successful orchid growing. For most beginners who have never repotted an orchid, this task could be exciting, overwhelming or even down-right stressful.  On the other hand, the seasoned growers can find repotting to be a dreadful chore if they have go through several hundred plants every year.  We hope that our Repotting Series guides will help you become more comfortable with repotting orchids.

When is the correct time to repot?

1) Spring time.  More often than not, spring is the best time to repot your orchids as the rising warm temperatures will encourage new growths and new roots to sprout. Preferably, you want to start repotting in early spring but if you need to repot hundreds of plants and have a limited amount of time during the weekends, you can continue repotting up until late spring.

Some experienced orchid growers have also pointed out that specific orchids do not push out new growths in the spring time but at other times of the year. This is an exception than the rule and we encourage you to observe the growing habits of your orchids as well as read more about their cultural requirements.

2) Deteriorating growing media. An orchid whose growing medium remains dark, compacted and have a mushy feeling/soggy smell to it (eBay does not have the technology for scratch-and-sniff so you will have to settle for a description at this time), is a prime candidate for repotting no matter what time of the year it is. Soggy, deteriorating media suffocates the root system of the plant which often leads to rotten roots that equates to dead orchids.

3) Overgrown plant. Orchids that are growing out of the pot (sympodial orchids like Cattleyas, Dendrobiums) or just too tall to remain upright (monopodial orchids like Vandas) are prime candidates for repotting.

4) Bareroot orchid.  Imported orchids are always shipped bareroot due to USDA/USFW regulatory requirements. In some instances, some sellers will intentionally remove an established orchid from its pot and ship the plant bareroot to reduce the shipping cost. With bareroot plants, the roots are exposed and likely have been damaged in transit, so it is very important to quickly re-hydrate and re-establish the plant by potting or mounting them as soon as possible.

5) Loosely potted orchid. A loosely potted orchid will have difficulty in getting established because the emerging roots will always be disturbed and consequently damaged by handling, watering, or strong ventilation.

Now that you have a basic guideline on when to repot, the next step is to determine what orchid media is best for your particular orchid.  Before proceeding to our next guide, Repotting Series II - Orchid Media Formulations, let us know if this guide was helpful and if you have any suggestions to help us improve it for everyone's benefit.