Question
Hi Wayne,
I would be really gratful for your advice. I have two orchids that I would like to re pot but I have never done it before. One is an Oncidium that I bought from a supermarket about a year ago. It's flowers died at least four months ago, perhaps six (sorry to be so vague) and I cut the stem down so that it is only a couple of inches long now and compleatly dry and light brown in colour. It seems to be doing very well, lots of dark glossy leaves and seven or so pseudo bulbs(?) at least three of which have grown since I bought it. I wonder if I am suposed to split it up when I repot it but would rather not as I am quite scared of doing anything to it at all.
I also have what I am pretty certian is a phalaenopsis orchid although it wasnt labled when I bought it. It is in a transparent pot with masses of thick air roots of a whitish green colour. Its potted in bark and has large wide quite flat oval leaves that are dark green in colour. Infact I bought it because it looked so healthy and had so many visiable roots but it was clearly too big for its pot (its leaves are so wide and slightly more over one side of the pot so that it falls over if not propped up, the roots inside the pot where very tightly tangled and the plant itself was pushed up by the roots so that it stood proud of the pot). Perhaps two weeks ago it fell over and out of its pot. I hastily repotted it but its roots are too big to go all the way back into its pot and it has very little bark in there now. Its flowers started to die a few weeks ago and while the stem snapped in the fall it is still deep green and has one wilted flower still hanging on! I think it may have survived my very clumsey handling and I would love to give it a chance to thrive in a larger pot. I have struggled in the past to find specific orchid potting mix and think i will find it hard to find another, slightly deeper transparent pot. Would love any advice I can gather! Thanks so much for your help!
Cecily

Answer
Good morning Cecily.  Both plants should be repotted.  The garden centers at both Lowes and Home depot should have orchid potting mix.  If you don't have access to these or other garden centers you may order it from Charley's Greenhouse and Garden            (charleysgreenhouse.com). They also have a large variety of orchid pots which have a lot of drainage/air holes n the bottom. Be sure the potting mix is fir bark based.

Soak a portion of the potting mix and save the reaminder in dry condition for future repotting. While soaking the potting mix, unpot a plant and rinse off the roots.  If the phalaenopsis has any mushy roots, remove them prior to repotting, You probably should use a slightly larger pot for repoting (1-2" in diameter larger). Insert the rinsed roots into the clean pot and, if the roots are long, they may be settledin by slowly rotating the plant as it is lowered into the pot.  Add the potting wet potting mix in an area where it can drain out of the pot.  Tap the pot as you add potting mix to help it settle amonst the roots.  You should repot these plants after each flowering.  Phalaenopsis prefer the light from an east window while oncidiums prefer somewhat brighter light.  Flowering is best when the plant receives enough light for the leaves to turn a light green.  Dark grren may be pretty, but you will get better flowering with a higher light level.