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The Best Way To Pot The Epiphytal Orchids
Orchids are generally placed into two main groups, epiphytal and terrestrial. The epiphytals are plants that grow on trees. There are several different ways to grow this type of orchid in the house or in a greenhouse. It all starts with potting.
Epiphytal orchid plants, in their natural habitats, have their roots more exposed to the air than the majority of other plants do. Therefore, by "potting" we do not mean packing them all around with thick potting soil. Rather, we want to place them in a pot containing loose, organic material, from which they can draw necessary nutrients, along with rocks or broken pottery pieces to create sufficient open space as well as to help the plants remain upright.
The usual formula for potting material appropriate to epiphytals is one part sphagnum moss to one part peat. Place a layer of this mixture in the bottom of the pot, followed by a layer of rocks or pottery pieces, then a second layer of the mix, and so forth. When the pot is about a quarter or at most a third full, carefully place your orchid's roots down into it. Then proceed to add more rocks and mix, packing all of this potting material only tight enough to support the orchid plant.
Gradually build up the potting mix up to and over the top of the pot. The height you should go above the pot depends on the size of the pot as well as the depth to which you have placed the plant. The general rule is to allow the plant's crown to rest on top of the mix. By crown is meant that part of the orchid plant from where the roots start.
If you happen to be repotting an orchid, you must be careful about removing it from the old pot. If there are any new roots attaching themselves to the outside of the pot, you should try to ease them off with a penknife. It you have a mass of vital roots -- meaning, roots that have sap in them -- attached to the inside of the pot, then you might need to break the pot and pick away all of those roots that you can. You may need to repot it with pieces of the old pot still dangling from the roots, and this is fine.
It is usually not a good idea to water the orchid for a day or so before or after potting.
This has been a very general introduction to potting epiphytal orchid plants. The subject can be more complex than this, especially in the case of some of the more delicate or senstive species. People have written entire books on the subject of potting the various different types of orchids! Luckily, most of us don't need books devoted soley to the art of potting to have success with orchids. A recognized, comprehensive guide to all aspects of orchid growing is usually sufficient.
Nowadays, of course, we have a huge amount of good information on the successful way to grow orchids. The most accurate and clear guidebook to modern orchid cultivation, without a doubt, is Orchid Care Expert by Nigel Howard, which is available to be downloaded from the web. Howard's well-written guide constitutes a complete education all to itself. And, it is suitable for novices as well as the more seasoned orchid cultivators. Also, check out the Orchid Secrets website, which has an ever-expanding database of entries on a wide range of aspects of orchid cultivation.
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